I'm On My Way
by Skye Coulson
Summary: AoS/Castle crossover! Skye is the daughter of none other than THE Richard Castle. But, more importantly, she's also the daughter of an Asgardian mother. What happens when Coulson's first protege-Special Agent Brynna Harmon-reunites her half-brother with his long-lost daughter? Spoilers for "Yes Men"
1. The Moment You First Learned To Breathe

**I'm On My Way**

**Disclaimer:  
**As always, I own nothing save for Tien-Hou Wang, and Special Agent Brynna Harmon.

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairings:  
**Coulsye  
Caskett

**Lyrics Used:  
**Boyce Avenue "On My Way"

* * *

I Wasn't There The Moment You First Learned to Breathe

* * *

_I wasn't there the moment | You first learned to breathe | But, I'm on my way, on my way | I wasn't there the moment | You got off your knees | But, I'm on my way, on my way_

_Lay down | And, come alive in all you've found | All you're meant to be | For now | Wait until the morning light | Close our eyes to see | Just close your eyes to see_

_And, when you feel no saving grace | Well, I'm on my way, on my way | And, when you're bound to second place | Well, I'm on my way, on my way | So don't believe it's all in vain | 'Cause I'm on my way, on my way | The light at the end is worth the pain | 'Cause I'm on my way, on my way_

* * *

"I understand that, Rick, but for the last time, I haven't found anything new on your daughter!" SHIELD agent Brynna Harmon hollered at her older half-brother, Richard Castle, huffing irritably. The famous author had been calling her for months after the CIA turned to be useless in finding his long-lost daughter – whose name he didn't even know. Brynna had been trying her best in between assignments to check on the progress and get some answers. Although, she hadn't been totally honest with him. She had pin-pointed his daughter. But, she wouldn't have risen to level ten without being thorough. She had some finer details to smooth through. Besides, she didn't need her half-brother meeting his daughter for the first time while she was fighting for her life.

Everyone in her department feared Brynna Harmon, who'd been under the supervision of Agent Phil Coulson in the beginning of her career, and knew that she could simply use a paperclip to kill someone if need be. That – she learned from dealing with Mossad. She'd visibly shivered at that memory any time it was mentioned. It hadn't been the best time in Israel. But, she'd more than earned her rise to level ten.

"Not even a little smudge, Bry?" Rick asked, hopeful.

Brynna glared at her paperclip holder like it was the source of her irritation. "Don't **make** me come to New York and use a paperclip on you." She spoke angrily.

"Okay, somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed, this morning." Rick joked, knowing she couldn't possibly jump out of the phone and strangle him. Then again, she could get his fiance, Detective Kate Beckett, to do it. Paling he spoke again, much carefully. "All right. No need. I'll be a good boy."

Better be, big bro. Brynna thought. "I'll sic Kate on you."

"Oh believe me, she already is." Castle half-joked.

Brynna scrunched her face up in disgust. "Eww! Rick, I did **not** need to that picture in my head! Thank you for that. I'll talk to you later. Tell Kate, Lexi and your mom, I love them." She said, looking up and seeing her husband, Scott Harmon, coming her way. "Bye."

"I will. Bye, Bry." Rick and her hung up at the same time.

"Hey, honey." Scott greeted, leaning against his wife's office door frame. Most men would have had a problem with their wife out ranking them. But, not Scott Harmon. He was proud of his wife-knowing all that she'd seen and been through to get that rank. He couldn't begrudge her that for a second. "Your brother?"

Smiling sweetly up at the blonde-haired, blue-eyed tall and muscular man, her personality switched like a light bulb. "Yep, checking up on the search for his long-lost daughter."

Scott shook his head, smiling. "I swear you two should be twins. Persistent, stubborn, and those are just two traits that I've noticed."

Brynna closed a SHIELD folder. "Yeah, well, we **do** share the same father."

"Yes, the father whose ass I still need to kick for not being a better father to the both of you." Scott stated with venom and an angry expression.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. Both Ricky and I have gotten over it. We've accepted it." She assured him, watching him calm down. "Now, how about some lunch?"

Scott smiled at her. "Sounds great!" He crossed the room and helped her up like a gentleman. "Where to? Cafeteria, restaurant, or fast food? Or, maybe we have enough time to eat at home."

Brynna chuckled, playfully slapping his chest. "Whatever you decide, sweetheart. I'm game for anything right now."

Just as Scott was about to suggest a place, Brynna's phone rang. Pulling it out of her pocket, she checked the ID, instantly recognizing the assigned number. Quickly pressing ANSWER, she put it up against her ear. "Phil?" she greeted in a worried tone, knowing he only contacted her if it was important or he needed advice.

"Hey, Brynna. I hope I'm not disturbing you, but can you come to the Bus? It's about Skye." Coulson asked, very worried and hurt tone. She'd only heard that tone in times when his emotions were on the brink of collapsing into a heap of a mess.

Stopping and glancing at Scott, her eyes showed her fear. It made him just as concerned. "Scott and I were just going to lunch. What's going on with Skye? Is she all right?"

She could hear him take a steadying breath to try to control his emotions enough to talk to her. "She was shot twice in the stomach. The doctor said the bullets perforated her stomach and punctured the small and large intestines. They patched her up as much as they could, but she was deteriorating right in front of me – the team – and FitzSimmons used GH-325 on her. She's in a coma now, but I don't know what it'll do to her. Do you know anything about GH-325?"

Brynna paled. _Aw, hell._ "You said GH-325, right?"

"Yeah." Phil breathed, shakily.

Brynna turned on her heels and returned to her desk. Scott followed quickly behind as soon as he realized that she'd left. "I may have something for you, Phil." Rummaging through the files on her desk, she eased into her chair, switching the phone to speaker and checking the pile.

"Thank you, Brynna. This really means a lot." Coulson sighed. Brynna knew how attached the senior agent had become to the hacker, how much in love he was with the hacker. She'd not only heard it through his voice but also seen it whenever she was with them. She was surprised the team hadn't tried to push them together. Although she would normally oppose such an age gap, she had to admit that she could not have cherry-picked a more admirable man for her niece.

"I know it does, Phil." Brynna said as she found what she was looking for. An 0-8-4's file in a Chinese village. "Yes! I found it!"

"What did you find?" Coulson asked, a tinge of hope laced in his voice. When she didn't answer in the amount of time he wanted, he repeated his question. "Brynna. What. Did you _find_?!"

"An 0-8-4 was found in a Chinese village where they found remnants of an 0-8-4 liquid that was later proven to be some sort of regeneration serum. Apparently, a woman there had possession of it, protecting that and her child before an unseen force murdered her, effectively trying to destroy the liquid and the child. The child had some sort of protective shell cocooning it. When that failed, they declared the child would die anyway." She went on a little more before shutting up.

"Oh my god, that's Skye! **That's** her story!" Coulson exclaimed. "So the GH-325 is…?"

"…what will save her, Phil. It's connected to her past." Brynna stated. She could hear him sigh with relief. "Your hacker is the 0-8-4! Phil, you know the protocol for 0-8-4s! You taught me that yourself!"

"I know, I know, I know, Brynna. But…" He sighed again. "I just...I couldn't do it. She's harmless."

Again, she glared at the paperclip holder. _I was right. The Phil Coulson that died is __**not **__the Phil Coulson they brought back. Unless that niece of mine has had even more of an impact on him that I thought._ _When I see him, he is __**so**__ getting a paperclip._ She growled. "Still, Phil. She better be worth not turning her in."

"She is, Brynna. I can't let her go." Coulson spoke in a desperate tone. She could hear the double meaning in that sentence. Though, she had to admit. She wasn't entirely comfortable about turning over her own flesh and blood.

Sighing heavily, Brynna closed her eyes as she pinched her nose in frustration. "Fine." She conceded. "Do whatever is necessary to protect her. I'll handle the heat from Fury."

* * *

"I am _so _glad we're finally getting a vacation in!" Kate smiled, rolling over in bed to look at her fiance. Tracing lazy patterns on his chest, she added "We're four thousand miles away from murderers and criminals and anything else that could ruin this perfect moment." She drawled, happily, before the moment was pierced by a loud pounding on the door.

_"DETECTIVE BECKETT! MR. CASTLE! OPEN UP, IT'S S.H.I.E.L.D.!"_ A voice shouted from outside their door. "Really?!" Kate snapped, sarcastically.

"Relax. It's just Brynna. She's probably just pulling some sort of prank." Richard Castle explained, lightly, as he rose from the bed-dressing himself before answering the door. _She's probably just exacting her revenge for me annoying her about searching for my daughter._ "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." _"RICHARD ALEXANDER ROGERS, YOU OPEN THIS DOOR, IMMEDIATELY OR I SWEAR TO __**GOD **__I __**WILL **__BREAK IT DOWN!" _Rick's baby sister called from the doorway, resorting to her sure-fire method of gaining her brother's attention.

"Coming! I'm coming!" Rick called, agitatedly, before throwing the door open. "Brynna! How lovely to see you again!" Noticing the strange man with his younger sister. "Who's the suit?" He asked, lightly. Though, his face slowly began to fall as he took in his sister's solemn expression.

"This is Agent Phil Coulson. We're here to discuss that little side-project you've had me working on." Brynna replied, suggestively as Kate joined her fiance at the door. "Hey, Kate." Brynna greeted, curtly.

"Brynna?" Kate questioned, curiously. "What are you doing here?"

"Mr. Castle, would you very much mind letting us in?" Coulson interjected, eager to get back to The Bus and to his hacker.

"You found her?!" Rick breathed, in awe. He couldn't believe the day had come. He would finally get to meet the daughter he'd never been allowed to know, before now. Shaking his head clear, he backed away from the door to grant the two agents entrance. "Oh! Yes, of course."

Entering the hotel suite, Brynna got straight to business. "Look, Rick, I'm just gonna get straight to the reason Phil and I are here, right now, because-frankly-we don't have time to beat around the bush." Brynna began, steadfastly keeping her voice at a purely clinical tone. "Yes, I found the daughter you've had me searching for for quite some time, now-"

"Wait a minute..." Kate interjected, confused. "Alexis is fine. She's back home, in New York-safe and sound."

"With all due respect, Detective, I'm well aware of that." Brynna replied, snidely. "I wasn't referring to Alexis."

Turning to her fiance, Kate asked. "You have another daughter you never told me about?"

Sighing heavily, Rick knew he'd have to have this conversation, sooner or later. "Twenty-four years ago, I was in China for a book signing. I met this woman, Tien-Hou Wang. She was...Incredible. Smart, beautiful..." Seeing the increasingly jealous look in Kate's eyes, Rick decided to skip over the description of his one-night stand. "Anyway, we spent a night together. I went back home the next day and thought I'd never see her again. Nine months later, I get a letter from her with pictures of her newborn daughter. She said she couldn't have the baby exposed to my fame and the spotlight and told me she was going into hiding with the baby. I never knew anything else about either of them. I heard about some huge massacre in the village a few months later. Tien-Hou and the baby were presumed dead-along with the rest of the village. But, the baby's body was never recovered, so...So, I always held onto some shred of hope that my daughter could possibly still be alive-"

"And, she is, Rick." Brynna replied, gently, lightly gripping her brother's hand in her own. "But, that's why Phil and I are here, now. You see, Skye's been training to become a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and she works for Phil."

"You've known Skye all this time and you never told me-" Rick shot out of his seat, closing in on the senior agent, before Kate and Brynna rose to their feet as well, restraining him, before guiding him back down into his seat.

"With all due respect, Rick, Phil only **just **learned that you were Skye's father about ten seconds ago." Brynna interjected, defending her former supervising officer-the man that had made her the agent she was, today. Sighing, she added "There's something you should know."

"What?!" Rick breathed, terrified of the answer. "Oh God...What happened?! Is Skye okay?!" He demanded, although terrified of the truth.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Castle..." Phil spoke, quietly and shakily. "She never should have gone in there, alone...I should have been there..." He added, quietly, more to himself than anybody else.

"What are you talking about?!" Rick demanded. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY **DAUGHTER**?!"

"Phil and Skye and their team were undercover in Malta, where Skye infiltrated a compound owned by millionaire Ian Quinn. It seems Mr. Quinn took the intrusion personally..." Brynna elaborated, sighing heavily. "He shot Skye twice in the abdomen at point-blank range."

"Oh God!" Kate gasped, gripping Rick's hand supportively as tears began stinging her own eyes.

"She's...going to be okay, though..." Rick added, hesitantly. "Right?"

"The bullets perforated her stomach and punctured both the small and large intestines. The surgeons at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s trauma center, here in Zurich, resected what they could but there was just too much damage..." Brynna elaborated, regretfully, a few stray tears stealing from her eyes. "So, Phil had his team comb through his file-although why he didn't just ask me is beyond me, given that I know _everything _about your resurrection..." She interjected, glaring at Phil. "Seriously, I could have saved you _**so **_much time and trouble-"

"Brynna." Phil interjected, sharply, non-verbally ordering his protege to get back to the point.

"Right." Brynna sighed. "My point is, that Phil and his team managed to track down a mysterious miracle drug-the very same drug that was used to bring Phil, himself, back from the dead after the battle of New York-"

"You died?!" Kate questioned, eyes wide with wonder.

"And...came _back_?" Rick added, piling on to his fiance's question.

"Another story for another time." Phil responded, clinically.

"Phil's right." Brynna replied, lightly. "The drug that they used on Skye-your daughter, Rick-and Phil is referred to as GH-325. When they first used it on Phil, after the battle of New York-when his heart had **literally** been torn in _half_, his injuries started showing signs of cellular regeneration mere **minutes **after they injected him with it. It seems to have had the same effects on Skye-"

"You injected my daughter with a substance you had no idea what it was or what it could potentially do to her?!" Richard demanded, glaring at the senior agent with a look of pure hatred that neither Kate nor Brynna had ever seen in the writer's eyes.

"I tried to stop them." Phil defended, weakly, with a glazed-over look in his eyes. "I was so scared that...That she would suffer. Like I did...But...For whatever reason...She didn't..." He added, in the same weak, wistful tone, before shaking his head clear. "Besides...She was already deteriorating right before my-the team's-eyes..." The correction went unnoticed by no one. "The only other alternative would have been to let her die."

"So, what, now?" Kate asked, trying to get to the point.

"Now, I've had one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finest pilots take a quinjet to New York along with highly-trained protective detail to collect Alexis and Martha to bring them to The Bus." Brynna explained. "We'll meet them, there, and you all can get to know Skye." She added with a brief smile before her voice took on another serious note. "But, Rick-and, Phil-there's something you all need to know about Skye..."

"What?" Phil and Rick asked in unison.

"What's goin' on, Bry?" Rick clarified.

"What are you talking about, Brynna?" Phil demanded.

"Well, Rick...You should know...Skye's been classified as an 0-8-4, given her heritage-"

"What's an 0-8-4?" Kate questioned, involuntarily reverting to Detective Beckett.

"0-8-4 is the code that S.H.I.E.L.D. uses to describe objects of unknown origins-"

"But, we **know **where Skye came from." Rick argued, confused. "She came from Tien-Hou and myself. She's...just a person..."

"That's where you're wrong, Rick." Brynna corrected, gently. "And, Phil...Skye is half-Asgardian."

"What?!" Again, the spy and the writer spoke in unison.

"Okay, we seriously need to stop doing that." Rick decided, earning a half-glare from Phil.

"Look, Rick, the reason Tien-Hou was able to hide from you so well is because she was Asgardian with a cloaking ability-among others. We never got to tap into her full potential before she was killed. And, Phil, that is why your precious little hacker was classified an 0-8-4." She added, focusing on her former mentor before returning her attention to the group as a whole. "And, we can't be sure, but, we believe it may have had something to do with why she was killed."

"I have to see her." Rick decided. "Please." He begged, gently.

Rising from her seat, Brynna smiled warmly as she replied "Right this way, Rick..."

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**Well, there ya have it, folks! I'd like to take a moment to thank my absolutely **_AMAZING_** beta, kellz1pt5 for all of the creative support in writing this story and brainstorming ideas with me!

~Skye Coulson


	2. If You Lose Yourself, I Will Find You

**I'm On My Way**

**Disclaimer:  
**As always I own nothing save for Scott & Brynna Harmon and Tien-Hou Wang.

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairings:  
**Coulsye  
Caskett

**Lyrics Used:  
**Zedd "Find You" [feat Matthew Koma & Miriam Bryant]

* * *

If You Lose Yourself, I Will Find You

* * *

_Silent love is calling faith | To shatter me through your hallways | Into echoes you can feel | And rehearse the way you heal_

_Make them dance | Just like you | 'Cause you make me mo-o-ove | Yeah, you always make me go_

_I'll run away with your footsteps | I'll build a city that dreams for two | And, if you lose yourself | I will find you_

_Open up your skies | Turn up the night | To the speed of life | Turn up your night | Put your love in lights | Turn up your night | I will find you_

* * *

"Sir, I'm afraid you can't be here." Special Agent Grant Ward warned, sternly, as Richard and Kate boarded The Bus.

"Actually, Agent Ward..." Special Agent Brynna Harmon began, smugly. "They can."

"Who are you?" Ward asked, daring Brynna to challenge him.

"Special Agent Brynna Harmon." Brynna introduced herself, proudly.

"And, just what the hell do you think gives you authority to say who can and cannot be on this plane?" The other specialist challenged.

"Well, her level ten clearance is a good start." Phil interjected, smugly. "Agent Ward, Agent Harmon is an old friend of mine...she and Mr. Castle, here, are..." He paused, to release a heavy sigh before adding "Well, they're Skye's only living flesh and blood relatives."

Shifting his gaze back forth between his commanding officer and the new visitors on the plane, looking at each of them as if they'd lost their minds. "What are you talking about?"

"Mr. Castle, here, is Skye's father." Brynna elaborated, steadfastly keeping her voice at an even, clinical tone. "He is also my half-brother. The lovely young woman with him is his fiance, Detective Kate Beckett from the NYPD homicide-"

"Dad!" The entire group turned their heads to see a young twenty-something redhead run up to Richard, throwing her arms around him, with an older redhead following closely behind her.

"Oh, Richard, dear! You've no idea how good it is to see you!" The older redhead exclaimed. "And, Brynna, darling, so lovely to see you as well!" She added turning to the younger blonde with Richard.

"It's great to see you again, too, Martha." Brynna smiled at her half-brother's mother, a woman who had very much become a motherly figure in her own life as well.

"Aunt Brynna, do you have any idea why those men brought us here?" Alexis asked, turning to her aunt with a frightened expression in her bright blue eyes.

Turning to her half-brother, Brynna suddenly realized the startling truth. "You never told her." She surmised.

"Told me what?" Alexis asked, looking up at her father with a confused expression.

"Oh, dear..." Martha Rogers muttered, suddenly realizing what Brynna was referring to. "Richard, dear. Is this about that Chinese woman?"

"What Chinese woman?" Alexis asked, backing away from her father, trying to figure out what was going on.

"I didn't want to say anything until we found her." Richard sighed, turning to his daughter. "Alexis...you have an older half-sister-"

"WHAT?!" Alexis screeched. Sensing that the author and his daughter really needed to have this discussion in private, Phil turned to Agent Ward before lowering his voice to a level that only the specialist would hear.

"We shouldn't be here..." The senior agent whispered.

"Agreed." Ward muttered, turning to follow his superior out of the room to allow the family a private moment.

"What do you mean, I have a half-sister?" Alexis demanded, her voice somewhat more level.

"Twenty-four years ago, I was in China for a book-signing. While I was there, I met this woman-her name was Tien-Hou Wang." Richard explained. "We talked and one thing led to another...and we ended up spending the night together. I returned home the next day expecting to never see or hear from her again. Nine months later, I received a letter from her with pictures of her newborn daughter. In the letter, she explained that she couldn't have the baby exposed to the spotlight and that she'd disappeared with the baby and I never saw or heard of either of them, again." The writer explained, misty-eyed. "A few months later, there was a huge massacre in the village where Tien-Hou lived and the entire village was wiped off the map. But, the baby's body was never recovered. So, I always clung to some small shred of hope that the baby could still be alive."

"Your dad first reached out to the CIA, in hopes that our father could find something." Brynna interjected. "But, when they proved to be worse than useless, he turned to me." She added, proudly.

"Why you?" Alexis asked, curiously. "I mean, if there wasn't anything the CIA could do, what could you do differently?"

"Well, for starters, I actually **wanted **to help." Brynna replied. "Secondly, with a level ten security clearance, I have access to files that the rest of the world doesn't even know exist." She added, causally. "So, I agreed to help my brother – under the table, of course – in between assignments, to help him find his daughter."

"And..you found her?" Alexis asked, carefully. She couldn't believe she might be meeting the half-sister she'd never even known she'd **_had _**until today.

"We did..." Brynna smiled, briefly, until the smile fell, as she released a heavy sigh. "But, before you see her, you need to know...She's currently in a coma, right now."

"A coma?" The younger Castle questioned, worriedly. "Why is she in a coma? What happened to her?"

"She was shot twice in the abdomen. The bullets perforated her stomach and punctured her small **and **large intestines. Now, fortunately, Phil and the team have managed to heal most of the injuries. But, she is still in a coma – probably for the best as it will allow her body a chance to rest and recuperate."

"Can we see her, dear?" Martha asked, wrapping her arms around her granddaughter's shoulders.

"Of course." Brynna replied, warmly. "Right this way." She added, leading her family in the direction of her niece's ICU pod.

* * *

"Is that her?" Alexis asked, staring through the window at the young Chinese-American woman in the bed inside the pod.

"That's her." Brynna confirmed, gently. "Her name is Skye."

"What else can you tell us about her?" Rick asked, staring at the unconscious form of the daughter he'd never been allowed to know.

"Well, she's one hell of a fighter, I gotta give her that..." Brynna replied, recalling Phil's counts of the times they'd nearly lost her after Ian Quinn had shot her. "She also grew up being shuffled around the foster care system in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s attempts to protect her from who or whatever wiped out the village where she'd been born. For the first twenty-four years of her life, she'd felt like she just wasn't a good fit - unwanted by every family that ever took her in - until Phil found the truth about her. She's also quite talented with computers." She began, turning her attention to her brother. "You see, Rick...She became a hacker – and, a damn good one, mind you – all so that she could find whatever information she could about her parents."

Snapping his attention to his sister, Rick's eyes widened in realization. "She was looking for me?" He breathed in sheer awe.

"Yes." Brynna smiled, gently. "She was. She even had Phil helping her, as I said..."

"Wait a minute?" Kate interjected, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why would Agent Coulson be involved with her search?"

"Phil has been crazy about Skye ever since he and Ward kidnapped her out of her van in LA-"

"'Kidnapped'?" Rick demanded.

"Recruited." Phil corrected, as the rest of the group whirled around to face the senior agent.

"Phil, ya threw a **_bag _**over her head!" Brynna snapped, playfully. "I don't know about you, but - where I come from - we call that kidnapping...But, getting back to my original point...Shortly after she joined Phil's team, Phil got the sense that she was hiding something from them, and gave her one chance to come out with it or he would be 'done with her'. That was when she told them about her search and how it had led her to a single document which had been redacted by S.H.I.E.L.D." The specialist began, recalling what Phil had told her of the hacker's story. "Phil warned her that she might not like what she found and agreed to help her."

"A few months later, I managed to dig up the raw file of the document your daughter had found." Phil added, picking up where his protege had left off. "It told me bits and pieces of the story. It told me that Agent Linda Avery and her partner were sent to the village where Skye had been born to investigate reports of an 0-8-4."

"As I already told Rick and Kate..." Brynna interjected, turning her attention to Alexis and Martha. "Skye was the 0-8-4. Shortly after they brought her back to the states, Agent Avery and her partner's team started being picked off, one-by-one, until they finally realized that the only way to keep Skye - and, _themselves_ - safe, was to completely erase her from existence." She elaborated before her mentor picked up.

"Agent Avery used a senior agent's credentials to fake a level eight security clearance before dropping Skye off at an orphanage with explicit orders for them to continually shuffle her around so that she never spent more than a month or two with the same foster family." Phil explained, his voice taking on a heavy tone. "It was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s way of keeping her safe."

"From what Phil told me of Skye's reaction when he told her all of this, she's one hell of a resilient young woman." Brynna observed, watching said hacker through the window. "To use Phil's own words 'What I told her...shattered her world. Her entire life's search led to stories of murder and, now, it's too difficult to continue. Her search was over. Her story ended here...'..." Brynna added, reciting her mentor's own words.

"But do you know what she told me?" Taking all of the confused expressions around him, Phil added "She said 'No...Her story _started _here.' **That's **what she took away from that story. Not the family she believed she'd _never _have. But the one that she's _always _had." Smiling softly at the fond memory, the senior agent added "That's the thing about Skye...Here I am telling her something that could...destroy her faith in humanity and, yet, _somehow_, she manages to _repair _a little piece of mine."

The rest of the group was stunned by the story the two agents had just told. Rick couldn't believe his daughter had been subjected to that kind of life. _I should have fought harder to be there for her..._He told himself. Finally, the author's younger daughter was the first to break the silence.

"What's an 0-8-4?" Alexis asked, curiously.

"An object of unknown origins." Brynna replied.

"How is Skye 'an...object of...unknown origins'?" Alexis questioned, trying to work the puzzle in her head.

"According to what Brynna recently told me...Her mother was Asgardian." Phil explained.

"'Asgardian'?" Alexis repeated, confused. "What's that? Like...some sort of alien?"

"Basically, yes." Brynna conceded. "They're people from another realm."

"Wow..." Alexis breathed, taking in all that the agents were telling her. "I can't believe it." She muttered, before turning back to Brynna. "Is that why she was shot?"

"No..." Phil sighed. "That was because of me."

"You?" Alexis asked.

"The man who shot Skye is millionaire Ian Quinn." Brynna interjected, coming to her former SO's aide. "He was working for a mysterious terrorist known only as 'The Clairvoyant'. Evidently this 'Clairvoyant' can see anything and everything." She added, pausing as she gestured toward Phil. "Except...for how this dumbass came back from the dead." She added, only half-joking.

Staring at Phil in wonder, Alexis asked "You came back from the _dead_?!"

"Yes." Phil sighed, heavily. "_That _was why Ian Quinn shot Skye." He added, feeling the guilt stabbing at him much like Loki's scepter had once done. "'The Clairvoyant' ordered Quinn to shoot her in order to force me to figure out _how _S.H.I.E.L.D. brought me back so that he could finally see that process for himself. It was the only thing they couldn't see. So, my choices were...save Skye and give 'The Clairvoyant' exactly what they want...or let her die."

Stepping over next to the senior agent, Rick gently clapped him on the shoulder before speaking. "I know this whole situation put you in a difficult position." The author conceded. "But, I want to thank you for saving her."

* * *

"New orders." May spoke. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is detecting massive energy readings in the skies above the California-Nevada border."

"Where's Agent Coulson?" Ward questioned, curiously.

"Taking personal time." May replied, slightly irritated by the interruption.

"It's been a couple days straight." The specialist argued.

"These are the same readings as Dr. Selvig and Dr. Foster picked up in New Mexico _and _in London." Jemma interjected, analyzing the data on her tablet. "They herald the arrival of an Asgardian."

Realization dawning on his face, Leo interjected "Thor!"

"Not sure." May countered. "Either way, S.H.I.E.L.D. wants _us _to be the Welcome Wagon."

"Oh." Leo stuttered. "Oh. Okay. No cause for concern. Right? Asgardians are allies."

"Loki wasn't." Ward countered, tersely.

* * *

Driving through the Nevada desert, Ward called over his shoulder to the engineer in the back seat. "Fitz?"

"Eh...We're definitely getting close, but, it's still a bit of a crap-shoot." The engineer replied. "This is still science that we don't completely understand."

"Seems to be a lotta that goin' around, lately." Ward mused. "So Coulson hasn't talked to you?" He asked, leaning over to the pilot in the driver's seat. "About why he changed his mind about giving Skye that drug?"

"No." May lied. "He's keeping it to himself."

"Whoa! I'm getting a massive energy surge." Fitz interjected. "Three times the level of the one before."

"How close?" May questioned, before the energy surge blasted the ground directly in front of them. Swerving to avoid the blast, May slammed the brakes as the rest of the convoy stopped around them, creating a barricade in front of the blast site.

"Yeah..." Ward mused, stepping out of the vehicle. "Definitely Asgardian." He noted, taking in the sight of the crouched woman rising to her full height as the rest of the convoy crouched into position, with their weapons drawn.

"Running facial recognition..." Fitz interjected, staring at the data on his tablet. "Okay...I don't have a name, but, I _can _confirm that she was in New Mexico fighting with Thor and his mates." He added as the visitor took in the sights of their vehicles and their emblem. "She's on our side."

"Stand down, she's a friendly." May ordered, instructing the other agents to hold their fire before she approached the woman.

"You are of S.H.I.E.L.D.?" The strange woman demanded.

"Yeah..." Ward drawled, unsure of what to make of the visitor.

"I am Lady Sif of Asgard." The woman introduced herself. "Your world is in grave danger."

* * *

"She's a warrior." Coulson mused, watching Sif follow Fitz and Ward into the lab area. "I saw her fight in New Mexico with Thor. Climbed a giant metal killing machine, speared it with her double-bladed sword. Was pretty bad-ass."

"Says she needs S.H.I.E.L.D. to help her find someone." May replied, getting back to business. "You up for this?" The pilot questioned, carefully.

"I'm fine." Phil replied, dismissively.

"'Fine' doesn't look like this." May countered, suspiciously. "Not on you." She added. "You've been gone more often than not. " Stepping in closer to the senior agent, she added "Whatever's bothering you...I'm here..." She offered, hoping provide the senior agent – one of her closest friends – whatever support she could.

"I know." Phil replied, simply, before taking his leave. Following Phil down the stair case, she joined him in entering the lab with Sif and his team.

* * *

"What dark magic is this?!" Sif demanded, seeing Coulson enter the lab, gripping the handle of her sword in preparation for any unexpected attacks. "Thor said you _perished _at the hand of Loki!" She snapped as the senior agent stepped closer.

"He was right." Phil replied, simply. "For a while, anyway..." He elaborated, before switching gears. "But, Loki wasn't the only one with some tricks up his sleeve. Turns out, S.H.I.E.L.D. had a few of their own."

"Thor will be pleased to hear it." Sif surmised, studying Phil's form carefully, for any signs of deceit. "He considers you a friend." She added, more sincerely, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

"I feel the same." Phil replied, gratefully. "Which is why I prefer he hear it from me, if that's okay." Silently nodding, Sif realized that would probably be for the best. "I understand you're looking for someone." Phil added, getting back to business.

"I am **hunting **her." Sif corrected. "Lorelei. Six hundred years ago, she used her powers to wreak havoc across the nine realms. To command armies. Bring down kings. Empires." She explained.

"What kinda powers we talkin' about?" Ward questioned. "Strength? Speed?"

Turning to face the specialist, Sif shook her head as she replied. "Sorcery. She bends and shapes the will of men to her own purpose." The warrior explained.

"_Only _men?" May questioned. "Her powers don't work on women?"

"No." Sif explained, stepping in front of the table in the center of their group. "Men have an inherent weakness we do not share." She added as the pilot stared at her, knowingly.

"I can't imagine what she's talking about. " Fitz mused, quietly, turning toward Ward.

The specialist could only shake his head and contort his face in confusion.

"The very sound of her **voice **can ensnare most." Sif interjected, clearly overhearing the private conversation. "For the rare man that can _resist_, it's her voice joined by her _touch _which can overpower his will."

"So, how do we stop her?" Coulson questioned.

Holding up a golden collar, Sif simply replied "With this." Setting it down on the table, she elaborated. "It prevents her from speaking. She wore one like it for centuries while locked in prison. She escaped when the dark elves invaded Asgard and came here using one of Loki's secret pathways between worlds.

"We know where she is now?" Ward questioned.

"All I know is the bi-frost delivered me to her last known location." Sif explained, frustrated with her lack of knowledge as to Lorelei's whereabouts.

"It's mostly small towns out that way." Coulson surmised. "Let's start looking for unusual activity in a couple hundred square mile radius. Burglary, theft, assault...This woman's used to ruling over empires. She's gonna be hard to please."

* * *

"All this time..." Rick muttered, staring through the window at his daughter. "She was looking for me the whole time I was searching for her."

"You had no way of knowing-" Kate offered, warmly, wrapping her arms around her fiance from behind.

"No, I realize that..." Rick muttered. "I just...I always wondered...If I ever _did _find her...Would she even _want_ to meet _me_? Would she understand why I was never there for her?"

"Dad..." Alexis interjected, gently. "At least, now you have some of the answers. And, you'll get the rest when she wakes up."

"I can't believe I almost lost her without ever getting a chance to get to know her." Rick muttered, helplessly.

"Thankfully, she's lucky enough to have a Phil Coulson in her life." Kate replied, thoughtfully.

"I think we're all lucky, in that respect." Alexis smiled, looking through the window to her new half-sister.

* * *

"These are police reports from within a hundred miles of where you arrived. Everything from the last forty-eight hours." Coulson elaborated as Sif looked over the information on the table in front of them. "When you want to sift through the -" He began, instructing the warrior as to how to use their technology before being interrupted.

"I'm familiar." Sif interjected, swiping through the files before her as if she'd been using the technology all her life.

" - you...just...touch...the...Oh!" Phil muttered, watching the file open up before them.

"It's an antiquated system we had in the other realms ages ago." Sif replied, dismissively.

"You've...visited other realms." Phil mused, watching the warrior work. "Seen different...species..." He added. "Aliens..." Finally, he got to the question weighing on his mind. "Have you ever...encountered any that were...blue?"

"Yes. Of course." Sif replied, thoughtlessly, turning back to her search.

"Which ones?" Phil questioned, carefully.

"Hahhhh...Mentodites...Levians...Fairgotts...Krees..." The warrior began, a little taken aback by the question. "Sachs...Centaurians...The Frostgiants tried to conquer your Earth a millenia ago, but, Asgard drove them away..."

"Oh...Thanks for that..." Phil replied, processing everything that was being thrown at him. "And...the others...Have any of them been here, recently?"

"Rest easy, Phillip, Son of Coul..." Sif replied, reassuringly. "None of the others have _ever_, visited Earth." As reassuring as that was meant to be, it only raised more fears and questions for the senior agent. "There!" She declared, finding what she was looking for. "A robbery of jewels."

"And, there." Coulson added, spotting a robbery at a gun store. "A gun store robbery. By guys on Harleys."

"It's happening faster than I feared." Sif breathed. "She's amassing men...gold..weaponry...Lorelei's building an army." She added, turning to Phil.

* * *

"We traced the men to a biker bar named Rosie's Desert Oasis." Ward explained, following May down the stairs into the lab. "Probly where Lorelei's hiding out." He surmised. "Meeting a S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy there in ten."

"Good." Fitz replied, smiling proudly. "Then, you can show off these beauties." He added, waving his hands over the table of guns he'd displayed for the agents.

Impressed, Ward whistled as he replied "Wow. These all Night-Night guns?" He asked, curiously.

"Based on the same technology." Fitz conceded, with a smug smile. "But...We're not calling them that, any more..."

"'Bout time." Ward replied.

"They're called 'I.C.E.R.S.'" Leo added, smiling excitedly, as May and Ward played with their new toys. "Incapacitating. Cartridge Emitting-"

"They're great." Ward interjected, testing out the new weapon in his hands. "_And_, ya lost the ounce." He added, impressed, clapping the engineer on the back.

"_And_, I tripled the stopping power!" Fitz added, unable to stop the smile on his face as he clapped Ward on the back in return. "But, I did realize – after our run-ins with Mike, and Centipede - " He added, pausing to lift one of the larger machine guns into his hands, apologizing as May turned the gun away from her. "Sorry – We needed something stronger." He finished, passing the weapon off to Ward. "Better."

Cocking one of the smaller pistols in her hand, May turned when Ward questioned her. "Thought ya didn't like guns?"

"No. I always say, if I need a gun, I'll take one." The pilot corrected, examining the weapon in her hand. "We'll need these." She paused, her voice taking on a strange tone. "When you're up against people who are being controlled...Sometimes it's hard to distinguish friend from foe."

"This way, we can take out either." Coulson interjected, thoughtfully, as the group turned to face him.

"Where's Lady Sif?" Leo questioned, only to watch the aforementioned warrior drop down behind Coulson before he could even finish the question.

"Shall we?" Lady Sif asked, suggestively.

* * *

"Lorelei's tastes usually run toward palaces, castles..." Lady Sif observed as they arrived at Rosie's Desert Oasis. "This place is far more humble than her usual abode." She added, unsheathing her sword.

"Draw wasn't the place." Ward deduced. "It was the man power."

"How many men does she have in there?" Coulson called to the police officers surrounding the bar. "Have you seen the suspect?"

"Yes, we have." One of the officers replied, cocking his shotgun. "And, she's beautiful." He added, opening fire on the S.H.I.E.L.D. team.

* * *

"What is that?" Lorelei questioned, bored with the gunfight outside.

"Well, it seems we've caught the attention a the law..." Her new main man, Rooster, replied.

"You swore...to fight for me..." Lorelei replied, reminding Rooster of the vow he'd made.

"And, I will." Rooster countered. "But, they got a lotta firepower out there." He argued to which Lorelei simply snorted as if to say 'So what?' "I mean, hell, they even got a medieval times chick out there. She's got a sword and everything." He added, finally catching Lorelei's attention.

"Sif." Lorelei snarled, as she realized who Rooster was referring to.

* * *

"They're on us from both sides." Ward growled out, covering Coulson from behind. "Be hard to get off a clean shot."

"Lady Sif!" Phil called out, over the gunfire. "Can you give us a little cover?!" Nodding at Phil's request, Sif kicked a trailer over to block the officers shooting at the S.H.I.E.L.D. team. "That's a very literal interpretation." Phil mused, before turning his attention back to the Asgardian warrior. "Thank you!" He called out.

As he and Ward took out two more officers, the specialist called out "All clear!"

"May!" Phil called to their pilot. "Stay outside! Let Sif take Lorelei!" He ordered as the Asgardian took off inside the bar in search of her prey. "Ward. Head around back." He added as the specialist took off around the back of the building.

* * *

"Lorelei..." Sif greeted, barging through the doors of the bar. "Still manipulating men to do your dirty work, I see..." She taunted.

"And, _I _see you're still a step or two behind." The seductress taunted, in return, never missing a beat.

"You know how this ends, Lorelei..." Sif warned. "So, come willingly."

"You mistake me for someone who _fears _you..." The seductress taunted. "I've bested you, before..." She added, as Sif steadfastly kept her face neutral against the taunting. "Or have you forgotten?" Lorelei asked, knowing all too well that the warrior, indeed, remembered. "Tear her apart." She finished. Directing the order to her new-found men.

One of the bikers fired a shot at the warrior with his shotgun which was easily blocked by the armor on Sif's arm before she effortlessly threw him through the glass on the doors. The rest of the bikers were just as easy for her to dispense with as one-by-one, they flew through the air.

* * *

Creeping around the back wall of the bar, Ward found the leader of the bikers – Rooster who knocked his weapon out of his hands with a chain. "Look..." Ward spoke, calmly, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm sure you're a reasonable guy..." He added, dodging a swipe from the chain which he reciprocated with a punch to the biker's face. "Rooster..." He finished, noting the name on the biker's jacket. "Rooster? Really?!" He asked, sarcastically.

While Lady Sif was busy with the bikers, in the bar, Lorelei took advantage of the distraction as she quietly slipped out the back of the bar. Watching Ward disarm her 'Rooster', Lorelei smiled as she realized she could utilize a man with such talents. Leaping quietly from her position on the roof of the bar, she watched as Ward whipped around – gun drawn – to face her. Staring at the man before her, Lorelei slowly and carefully rose to her feet as she spoke. "You're a fine warrior." She observed, smiling subtly.

"I am." Ward countered, unwilling to fall prey to her tricks. "Put your hands behind your back and get on your knees." He ordered, firmly.

"_Men _kneel before _me_." Lorelei corrected, closing in on the specialist. "_I _do not bow to _them_."

"Gonna need some backup over her." Ward called over his shoulder, never once taking his eyes off the seductress.

Reaching out to lightly grip the specialist's arm, Lorelei spoke again. "That is not what you need." In that moment, she knew she had the specialist exactly where she wanted him as he lowered his weapon.

Revving the engine of a motorcycle, Ward smirked to the beautiful woman on the back of the bike. "Take me somewhere grand." She ordered, smiling seductively. "Deserving of a ruler. Queen."

"I know just the place." Ward replied, taking off down the open highway.

* * *

Punching the wall of the plane in frustration at Lorelei's escape, Sif grunted as she attempted to work out a way to track the seductress down, once more. "Lorelei's treachery remains unchanged no matter the world!" She snapped, walking around Coulson's back.

"We'll find them." Coulson replied, confidently, turning to face the Asgardian. "Every agent in the area's out looking."

"To what end?" Sif challenged. "Hm?! The **collar** -" She paused, slamming the aforementioned accessory down on the table before her. "- is **_broken_**! Short of _death_, we've no means to end her enchantment!"

"Let _me _worry about that." Coulson offered, confident in Fitz's ability to repair the collar. Stay here." He ordered. "And try not to punch a hole in my airplane." He added, taking his leave to give the collar to the engineer.

* * *

"So, Ward's like what – a pod person?" Brynna demanded.

"No." Coulson replied, bluntly. "According to Lady Sif, the men Lorelei controls don't forget who they are or what they know...She just becomes the embodiment of all their desires."

"So, when we find them we can break her...mojo...or whatever and get Ward back, right?" The senior specialist replied.

"Yes." Coulson confirmed. "Once the collar's back on Lorelei's neck, the enchantment ends. But, that's the problem. The collar caught a shotgun blast back in the desert." He added, passing the collar off to Fitz. "You think you can fix it?" He asked, curiously.

Examining the item in his hands, Fitz replied "Well...the metal, the weight...similar to the berserker staff..."

"But, it presents its own set of countless unknown variables." Jemma interjected.

"Got a couple hours." Coulson shrugged.

"Yep." Fitz replied, taking off toward the lab.

"What can _I _do?" Brynna asked. "And, so help me _God_, Phil, if you tell me 'nothing', I _will _kill you and – this time – there ain't gonna be nothin' left to **bring **back!" She warned, half-glaring at the senior agent.

"Ward's gonna have safe houses and drop boxes all over the world..." Phil offered. "They're filled with currency, weapons, IDs...He's gonna use aliases, cash, anything to keep Lorelei off the radar. Short of Skye, you're the best radar we have..." It was true. Phil remembered, all too well, how much Brynna was like a dog on a bone when searching for someone.

"Gee...thanks, Phil..." The senior specialist replied, snarkily.

"Find them." Her former SO replied, completely unfazed by the snark.

* * *

"I'm fortunate to have found you..." Lorelei observed, walking through the doors of Caesar's Palace with Agent Ward in tow. "You're quite...resourceful..." She decided.

"I'm well trained." Ward countered, simply.

"No. You are worlds apart from those men in the desert." Lorelei countered, stopping to look directly at Ward.

"I'm not an idiot." Ward argued. "I know you value me no more than those bikers back there." He added. "The truth is...I don't care."

"Because of what you feel..." Lorelei countered.

"I felt something before..." Ward replied. "For someone on my team...Seems foolish, now." He mused. "I would die for you. Any man would."

"But, I don't want them." Lorelei argued. "I want you. You're _stronger_. A real man with the rage of a _berserker _inside." She mused, sliding her hand up Ward's shoulder as she ordered "You will present me with an army. And, I will give you a gift...in return..."

* * *

"Aren't you gonna come see Skye?" Alexis questioned, curiously, watching her aunt staring intently at the computer before her. "I mean, she's your niece as much as I am -"

"I'm sorry, Alexis." Brynna inadvertently snapped at her young niece. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap. I'm just in the middle of an investigation and it's imperative that I find Ward and Lorelei as soon as possible." She elaborated, before returning her attention to the computer. "God only knows what kind of havoc that little whore could wreak with a man like Ward by her side."

"Is there anything I can do?" Alexis offered.

Smiling up at her niece, gently, Brynna rose from Phil's desk as she crossed the office, guiding the redhead into the sofa in the office. "Sweetheart, the best thing you could do, for any of us, is to just stay with Skye." She replied, softly. "God knows Phil's got enough shit on his plate, right now. He doesn't need to worry about Skye, too." She added. "And, I know that...knowing that Skye's not in there, alone...Will go a long way toward that end."

"I understand." Alexis replied, softly. "I won't leave her alone."

"That's my girl." Brynna smiled, wrapping her niece up in a brief hug. "Now...Get outta here...I got work to do..." She added, jokingly shooing Alexis out of the office.

* * *

"Security cameras just caught sight of them..." Coulson greeted, approaching Sif and May. "If Lorelei wants an army of wealthy, pliable men...She may have just hit the jackpot."

Kicking the door to the Las Vegas hotel room, Lady Sif took the lead as the S.H.I.E.L.D. team followed her through the entry way. Scattering throughout the suite, the warrior and the agents all determined that Agent Ward and Lorelei were already long gone. "Clear!" Agent Melinda May called out.

"She's gone." Sif declared.

"Turn this suite upside down." Coulson ordered, curtly, as another agent confirmed the order. Approaching the pilot, Coulson lowered his voice for a private conversation. "I know you said you and Ward wouldn't be a problem." He began, carefully. "But, I also know that you wouldn't tell me if it was."

Raising her phone to her ear, May stared directly at Coulson as she spoke. "Fitz. There are cameras all over this town. Track them all." She ordered, curtly, as if to prove herself to Coulson.

* * *

Returning to The Bus, the team was met with Agent Fitz. "There's no sign of them on any surveillance around the city." The engineer spoke.

"It was a long shot." Coulson conceded. "Ward knows how we work. Knows to avoid cameras."

"Yeah, well..." Fitz began. "I expanded my search. Got satellite support running. We'll find them." He added, smiling excitedly. "I do have a bit of good news. I fixed Lorelei's neck collar." He announced, proudly.

"Let me inspect it to be sure." Sif replied, needing confirmation that the collar was, in deed, in working order. "Asgardian metal is much different than ore of this planet."

"Sure." Fitz agreed. "But, I think you'll find it's up to snuff." He added, still unable to wipe the smile off his face. "It's in your room." He added, leading the Asgardian warrior to her bunk.

Watching Fitz and Sif leave, Coulson turned to May. "You and Ward have the same training." He began. "Cut from the same cloth. If it was you...Where would you run to?" He asked.

* * *

Approaching The Cage, Fitz spoke excitedly. "Asgardian metal is so dense, it's just a matter of finding the right tools, really. But, you'll see...Not a scratch on it." He added. "Because, yes...I _am _that good."

Picking the collar up off of her bed, Sif examined it, closely. "Well done. You really _are _quite clever." She admired, not even noticing the door to her room closing. Whirling around to face her closed door, she unsheathed her weapon, preparing for any attack. When none came, she charged at the door only to find it locked. Frustrated, she stabbed at her mattress before pounding against the door, in futility.

* * *

Hearing the banging from the lab, May turned to Coulson. "If I _was _Ward...I _wouldn't _run." She stated, vaguely. "I'd take out my main threat!" She hissed as they took off upstairs.

* * *

"We're taking off." Jemma observed. "Why are we taking off?"

"And, what is that _pounding_?!" Brynna added, trying to place the source of the offending sound.

"I'll go investigate." Jemma replied. "You stay here, with her..." She added, gesturing to the unconscious hacker in the bed between them.

Finding the door locked, the bio-chemist turned to the specialist. "We're locked in." She realized.

* * *

"Phillip...Son of Coul..." Lorelei drawled, zeroing in on the senior agent whom she'd cornered all alone in his office as she gracefully slid the door closed behind her. "I've heard quite a lot about you..."

"I'm sure you have." Phil conceded, steeling himself against her enchantment though – intellectually – he knew it to be an exercise in futility.

"The first man I have _ever _known...to return from death." The seductress drawled, stepping directly in front of Coulson as she backed him up against the wall. "That certainly is quite an accomplishment." She added, while sliding her hand up and down Phil's chest. "You _will _serve me well..." She commanded, seeing her enchantment taking hold in the senior agent's piercing blue eyes.

"I vow to serve and protect you until my final breath." Phil swore in a haunting monotone.

Lorelei smiled, victoriously. She knew she had the agent precisely where she wanted him. "Excellent." She drawled. But, she knew that the agent's heart lay with another. The wounded, young woman downstairs. The temptress needed to know that woman would not be an issue. "But, first...You must demonstrate your loyalty to me."

"I will do whatever you ask of me." Phil replied, in the same haunting voice.

"I know you once cared for the young woman downstairs..." Lorelei began.

"Once." Phil confirmed. "She is nothing next to you."

Stepping in even closer to Phil, Lorelei caressed his chest with her hands as she commanded "Kill her." One look in the agent's eyes told her she had nothing to worry about. "Kill her and I'll know where your loyalty lies."

"Consider it done." Phil replied, eager to please the beautiful woman before him.

* * *

"Where is everybody?" Alexis questioned, as she remained with Jemma, Brynna, Kate, and her grandmother in Skye's ICU pod.

Looking around, Brynna had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation. "I don't like it..." She replied, pulling her gun out from behind her belt, cocking the pistol sharply.

"Is...that really necessary?" Kate questioned, nervously.

"When you don't know what the _hell _you're walking into..." Brynna began, positioning herself next to the door – just out of view of anyone entering the pod. "It's _completely _necessary." She added, raising her weapon, waiting.

* * *

"Richard Castle." Lorelei drawled, smiling seductively. "The very name speaks of grandeur."

"Uh. Oh. Well...thanks?" Rick stuttered, clumsily backing away from the temptress. "I think?"

Smiling triumphantly, Lorelei stared directly into the eyes of the writer as she spoke. "You're with that...woman?" She questioned, referring to Rick's fiance. "The constable?"

"Uhh...yes? I think?" Rick replied, unsure of what Lorelei meant.

Stepping in closer to the author, Lorelei smiled as she lay her hand on Rick's chest as she spoke again. "And, you prefer her to me?"

"She's no one compared to you." Rick replied, fully entranced by the Asgardian temptress. "I solemnly swear to protect and defend you forever."

"That woman – the constable – and, your daughters..." Lorelei began, turning on her best victim face. "They're just as bad as Sif. They'll never stop coming after me. I'll not know peace."

Smiling darkly, Rick replied. "Then, I'll take care of it." Caressing the seductress's face, he added "Don't worry, beautiful...I'll never let _anyone _hurt you..."

* * *

"Agent Coulson!" Alexis greeted, relieved.

"Alexis..." Phil smiled, crossing the room to draw the redhead into his arms. That action, alone, sent up red flags in the senior agent's former protege's mind. The Phil Coulson she knew was not the touchy - feely type.

"Hold it, right there!" Brynna demanded, aiming her gun directly at her former SO's head. "What's goin' on, here, Phil?"

"'What's going on'?" Phil taunted as he whirled the young Castle in his arms to press the cold hard steel of his pistol into the flesh of her temple. "What's going on is that you're going to walk out of here. And leave me alone with Skye." He demanded. "Or you can stand there – impotently watching your niece die, right before your eyes – knowing you didn't do a damn thing to stop it."

"Phil, this isn't you, okay?!" Brynna replied, attempting to reason with her mentor and only father figure. "This is just Lorelei talking! You've gotta fight! Fight her, Phil!" Chest heaving from the adrenaline, she realized that Phil wasn't backing down as she shifted her gaze to the detective and her half-brother's mother. "Go." She ordered, softly. "Get outta here."

"No, Brynna-" Martha began.

"We're not leaving you, here, alone-" Kate added, eying Phil and Alexis.

"She's right." Phil taunted, never taking his eyes off of Brynna. "You should go. This could get messy." Finally seeing reason, Kate ushered Jenna and Martha out of the pod before pausing to whisper in Brynna's ear.

"I'll bring back help." The homicide detective whispered, quietly, before scurrying out of the pod.

"You got what you wanted, Agent Harmon." The senior agent taunted. "Your soon-to-be-sister-in-law and your surrogate mother of sorts are safe and sound...for now, at least..." He added, in the same haunting voice that he'd used with Lorelei. "Why don't you make the smart choice? Save your niece – and, yourself. Because, I don't want to hurt her. I really don't. That's not what Lorelei wants, either. She's not the one that has to die. Neither are you."

"_Nobody _has to die, Phil." Brynna corrected. "You know that as well as I do. Just put the gun down and we can take care of Lorelei – together – just like old times. And, we can free you."

"You're wrong." Phil argued. "Lorelei already _has _set me free." He added, before swiftly removing the pistol from the younger Castle's head and taking his aim directly at Brynna before firing a shot.

* * *

"Aren't you the brave one?" Lorelei taunted as she encountered the pilot in the galley/lounge area.

"You took my plane." Melinda snarled, fists raised, ready for a fight. "I want it _back_."

"Well..." The temptress taunted, closing in on the pilot. "We can't always get what we want..." She added, before her face took on a feigned contemplative look. "Actually...I can." She teased, launching the pilot across the room with one swift punch – effectively knocking the wind out of her lungs.

* * *

Scrolling through the options on the menu on plane's control system, Ward paused when he found the access panel for The Cage. Tapping the selection, he opened The Cage's access panel.

Watching the tiles fall away in the roof above her head, Sif's eyes widened in horror as she shifted her gaze to Lorelei's neck collar. Just as the collar rose into the air – drawn into the wind created by the opening in the plane – the Asgardian warrior reached out to catch it just before it disappeared. Fighting against the pull of the wind, she fought with everything she had only to fall prey to the suction as she was drawn out of the plane.

* * *

Dodging the shot, Brynna lunged for her niece, wrenching her free of her mentor's grasp. "Go!" She barked at the redhead. "Get outta here! Go get help!" She ordered, all but throwing the younger woman out of the pod.

"No, I can't leave you-" Alexis began to argue before Brynna gripped her by the biceps, staring straight in her eyes.

"Alexis Rose Castle, you get the hell outta here, right now!" The specialist barked. "Go get back up! I'll be fine! This is what I do for a living, remember?" She asked, smiling slightly to assure her niece.

Realizing that Brynna was right – the best way for her to help would be to go get the rest of her aunt's team. Nodding, she exited the pod, taking off at a dead run.

Watching her niece take off running, Brynna turned back to her mentor. "It doesn't have to be this way, Phil." She argued, trying – once again - to reason with the senior agent.

"Oh, but, I'm afraid it does." Phil argued, raising his weapon, once more.

_All right, then..._Brynna, thought to herself, steeling herself for a fight. _If that's the way it has to be..._Acting on instinct, she raised her foot into a high arch, kicking the weapon out of the senior agent's hand and sending it flying across the room – bouncing off of the opposing wall. _Gotta even out the playing field..._

Losing his weapon, the senior agent resorted to brute strength as he charged at the specialist, thrusting her against the wall, slamming his fist into her face. Unwilling to go down without a fight, Brynna jerked her knee up to collide with Coulson's groin. Groaning in pain the senior agent collapsed to his knees. Taking advantage of his weak moment, the specialist back-handed him with a closed fist. Rising back to his feet, Phil landed one lucky punch to her face, sending her crashing to the floor, unconscious. "Ya never could keep your nose outta things that didn't pertain to you, now could you?" He taunted, crossing the room to reclaim his weapon, before standing over the bed in the middle of the room.

Looking down into the face of his unknowing victim, Phil couldn't help feeling the slightest twinge of guilt at what he was about to do. Cocking the gun in his hands, Phil whispered, quietly. "I'm sorry."

But, before he could pull the trigger, the lights in the room flickered as every electronic device went haywire. The only eye of the storm was the unconscious hacker in the bed before him. The next thing Phil knew, some unseen force ripped the gun out of his hands as it crashed into the opposite wall. Staring at the hacker before him, the senior agent sensed that the ruckus all started with her. Reaching out, he attempted to grip her throat in his hands in an attempt to strangle her, manually, only to be jolted with an electric shock as a golden light encircled the hacker until he jerked his hands away. Before he could mentally recover, the agent felt some invisible force slowly lift him off of his feet before violently throwing him against the wall, rendering him unconscious.

With the threat eliminated, the chaos around the room suddenly stopped as Brynna slowly came to. Groaning, she struggled to her feet before she registered the sight of Phil's unconscious body on the floor. "Phil..." She breathed, shakily, crossing the room before kneeling down at her mentor's side. "Phil." She called to the man before her, receiving no response. "Oh God..." She breathed, pressing her fingers to the agent's neck, finding an admittedly thready pulse. "Shit..." She cursed, before something else drew her attention. As she heard a groaning noise coming from the bed, Brynna whipped around to see Skye stirring in her bed. "Skye!" She called out, careful not to touch the hacker, for fear she might frighten her.

"Who are you?!" Skye demanded, weakly. "What are you doing here?!" She added, before her frantic doe eyes landed on Coulson's unconscious form. "Coulson!" She cried. "Oh God...What the hell did you do to him?" She demanded.

"Sh-shh..." Brynna cooed gently. "Calm down, Skye -"

"How _the hell_ do you know my name?!" The hacker demanded. As her fear rose, the chaos among the electronics returned. "What's happening?"

"I need you to calm down, Skye!" Brynna ordered. "Just calm down and everything will stop...Just take a deep breath." At a loss for any other alternative, Skye did as Brynna told her to do and calmed herself – watching in wonder as the chaos died away, just as the stranger with her had promised. "There ya go..." Brynna added, breathing her own sigh of relief. "Now...To answer your first question...My name is Special Agent Brynna Harmon. Phil's a friend of mine – he trained me when I first graduated the Academy-"

"Wait!" Skye interjected. "Coulson was your SO?" She asked, trying to wrap her mind around everything she was being told.

"Yeah, he was." Brynna smiled fondly at the memories of when Coulson trained her. "Look...I don't know what happened to Phil. But, this whole damn plane is in trouble."

"What?" Skye questioned. "What do you mean the whole plane's in trouble?"

"We've been investigating a woman named Lorelei." Brynna began, carefully, steadfastly keeping her voice calm in order to keep the hacker calm. "She's from Asgard. Another Asgardian – she calls herself Lady Sif – followed Lorelei here to Earth to hunt her down and bring her back to Asgard."

"Okay..." Skye drawled, attempting to figure out where Brynna was going with all this. "What does that have to do with any of this?" She asked, waving her hands around the ICU pod. "Or Coulson? Or the whole plane being in trouble?" She asked.

"Lorelei is a seductress. She uses her powers to bend and shape the will of men to do her bidding." Brynna began, recalling the events of the investigation as she knew them. "She started her collection with Agent Ward – turning him against us. From what I can tell, she got to Coulson as well – he said he had come to kill you -"

"Bullshit!" Skye cursed. "Coulson would never do that! He would never hurt me!" She argued.

"Not in his right mind, he wouldn't." Brynna corrected. "But, that man on the floor, over there is _not _the Phil Coulson we know. As for what happened to him, I don't honestly know..." She conceded. "He knocked me out – that's the last thing I remember before waking up to finding Phil on the floor." Suddenly, something struck Brynna. "Wait a minute..." She spoke, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "That camera up there caught the whole thing!"

"Lemme see that!" Skye interjected, reaching out for the phone in Brynna's hand. At the questioning look in the specialist's eyes, Skye explained. "I've hacked S.H.I.E.L.D. before with less than that...I can hack that camera from your phone!" Brynna had to admit, she knew how good the hacker was from Phil's own accounts. Passing the device over to the hacker, she watched as Skye worked her magic with the phone. "I'm in!" Skye cried, triumphantly. Though her triumph soon turned to horror as she watched Phil reaching out to strangle her before his entire body was lifted off the floor before crashing into the wall before slumping to the floor. "Oh my God..." She breathed, shakily, dropping the phone into her lap.

Curious, Brynna reached out to pick up the device. Rewinding the footage, she saw what had Skye so upset. Looking over to the trembling hacker, Brynna dropped her voice to a warm and comforting tone. "Listen, Skye..." She spoke, gently, testing her own mental theory as she tentatively reached for the hacker's trembling hand, relieved when she wasn't shocked as Coulson had been. "I think there's something you need to know about your past..."

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**Wow! 21 pages! That's gotta be a new record for me! I've decided to break this up into 2 parts so that it's not so over-whelming to read all at once. I hope y'all like this chapter. I know it's pretty much a carbon copy of "Yes Men", but, I hope I added enough of my own elements to make it enjoyable! I'll try to complete part 2 tomorrow! In the meantime, don't forget to drop me a review!

~Skye Coulson


	3. I'll Fight For You

**I'm On My Way**

**Disclaimer:  
**As always, I own _only _Scott & Brynna Harmon.

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairings:  
**Coulsye  
Caskett

**Lyrics Used:  
**Pia Mia [feat Chance the Rapper] "Fight For You"

* * *

I'll Fight For You

* * *

_We live in our own world | We feel the weight that we create | Who ever knows what's real | Turn your backs to appreciate_

_And, the day's gonna come | And, the day's gonna come | And, the day's gonna come | When you decide who you'll become_

_I know you know it, you know it | But, you can't go choosin' sides | But, if you just show it, let me know it | Then, I'll fight for you, tonight | I'll fight for you | I'll fight for you, tonight_

_You don't gotta fight no more | This is my war | Put down your sword | Back up | I'm strapped up | I got this | I promise | I think this is what they made back-up for | This is my score | Let me put somethin' on the board | Your hand-me-down handicap second-hand trouble | That you try to juggle | You need a hand | Hand me that | I'll hold the duffel, you shovel | I love you like blood do | Sea your shell scuffle and triumph | I beat your demons | Now wipe off your sandy back | Shore, we fall, but, stand back-to-back | I can't evacuate you in this situation | Tie your shoelace I fall behind you wait for | It's your boy | Got you forevermore | Rest your poor bruised body and relax war_

* * *

"So...You're telling me that...I'm..._half-Asgardian_?!" Skye asked, shocked as she tried to wrap her mind around everything that Brynna was telling her. "My _mom _was an Asgardian?! And, she died trying to protect me?" The hacker asked, her warm doe eyes bright with wonder.

"Yes. Yes. And, yes." Brynna replied, smiling warmly, as she answered each of the hacker's questions in sequence as she continued trying to rouse her mentor. "Oh, God..." She whispered, quietly.

"What?!" Skye asked, shakily. "What's going on?! Why isn't he moving?!" She demanded, rising from her bed against the vociferous complaints of her body before she knelt at Coulson's side.

"He's unresponsive." Brynna observed, as Jemma returned to the pod.

"Bad news looks like Lorelei's – Skye!" The bio-chemist shrieked, realizing the previously comatosed hacker was now up and about. "**What **d'you think you're doing-"

"Not the time, Simmons!" Brynna barked, taking control in Coulson's absence. As the highest ranking agent on board, it was her duty to take the lead while Coulson was incapacitated.

"What – Bloody hell...Agent Coulson!" The bio-chemist whispered, taking in the sight of Coulson's unconscious body on the floor. "What happened to him?!" She demanded, shifting her gaze back and forth between Skye and Brynna.

Covering her mouth with her hands, Skye could only stare at Coulson in horror. "I...I did it..." She breathed, horrified by what she'd done to the man that had unknowingly stolen her heart. "It's all my fault..."

Leaving Jemma to deal with Coulson, Brynna rose to comfort her niece. "Skye, look at me – **look **at me." She ordered, gently. Once she held the hacker's stare, she added "This was _not _your fault. Your body was merely defending itself. You were **_unconscious_** for Christ's sake!" She elaborated as gently as possible. "You had no control over what happened!"

"Will somebody – for the love of all that's good and holy – _please _tell me **what **the bloody hell happened to Agent Coulson?!" Jemma demanded, agitatedly.

Gathering the shaken hacker into her arms, Brynna turned to face Jemma. "Coulson came in here – he was clearly under Lorelei's spell – talking about trying to kill Skye." Brynna replied, recalling what she could of Coulson's attack. "Talking about how he had to prove himself to Lorelei or whatever. I tried to make him see reason and when that failed, I tried to defend myself." She recalled, gently rubbing soothing patterns on Skye's back while she cried, quietly, into the specialist's shoulder. "But, he got the upper hand. Knocked me out. When I came to, all the electronics in the room were going haywire, Skye was awake, and Coulson was unconscious and unresponsive on the floor." She explained, carefully. "Skye hacked the security camera footage from my phone and we...we realized that – when Coulson tried to shoot her, an invisible force ripped the gun from his hand and threw it across the room." Watching the disbelieving look spreading across the bio-chemist's face, Brynna decided to head her off at the pass. "With his gun taken away, Coulson tried to strangle Skye only to be shocked by some strange golden forcefield around her body. After the shock, the same invisible force from before lifted Coulson's body into the air and slammed him against the wall." As Skye's tremors began to slow while Brynna stroked her hair, the specialist added "Look, I know how utterly insane it all sounds, but, you can see the footage, yourself, if you don't believe me." Extracting the phone from her pocket, she slid it across the floor to Jemma.

Staring at the device for a moment, Jemma decided to just take Brynna's word for it. _I don't have time to argue_...She told herself. "Just help me get him into the bed." Jemma ordered, as Kate and Martha returned to the pod as well.

"Oh, dear!" Martha exclaimed. "What happened -"

"No time, Martha." Brynna barked, but, with an apologetic look in her eyes. "Just give us a hand?" She asked, hopefully, as Kate and Martha both nodded their agreement. With Jemma positioned at Coulson's head and shoulders, Kate and Martha positioned on either side and Brynna and Skye at his feet, Brynna counted "All right. On three...One...Two...Three!" On the count of three, the five women hoisted Coulson into the air before transferring him to the bed.

While Jemma set to work assessing the senior agent's injuries, Kate turned to Brynna. "Brynna, we're in big trouble."

"What's going on, Kate?" The specialist asked, slipping into Agent Harmon.

"Lorelei's gotten to every man on this plane – Rick included." The detective explained, somewhat helplessly.

"Shit..." Brynna cursed, quietly. "That means this is gonna be a hell of a lot harder than I originally feared. Skye, Kate, Martha, you all come with me. Jemma, stay here and see what you can do for Phil. Keep us posted if there's anything we can do." She ordered as Jemma nodded and the rest of the group followed her out of the pod.

* * *

"I will retrieve Sif's sword..." Lorelei taunted as Melinda struggled to her feet while Ward sauntered up to Lorelei. "It will look better in my hand." She decided, arrogantly.

"Ward...You don't wanna do this..." May panted, breathlessly, hoping to get through to the man she'd fallen for.

"This was the plan..." Ward countered, sounding nothing like himself. "Cross off Sif. Take the plane. Eliminate anyone in our way." He explained, simply. Raising his gun to the pilot's chest, the specialist barked. "Now. Get out. Of her way."

"It's _her _plan." May corrected, desperately. "Not yours." She added, hoping the specialist would see reason. "Fight it. I know you. You're a fighter."

"Is this her?" Lorelei drawled, curiously. "The beautiful warrior with the heart of ice?" She taunted, shifting her stare toward May before pressing a lingering kiss to Ward's lips. Turning back to the pilot, she taunted "His heart...now beats in concert with mine." She declared, triumphantly. "And, mine, alone."

"No reason to make this about us." May replied, speaking to Ward.

"Oh..." Lorelei scoffed. "He told me who he desired before me." She sneered, patronizingly. "But, my dear..." She added, closing in on the pilot. "It wasn't you."

* * *

"Damn it!" Brynna cursed, opening the control panel on the computer in Coulson's office.

"What?" Skye asked, rounding the desk to see what the specialist was looking at. "What is it?!"

"They opened the airlock hatch to The Cage." Brynna replied, staring at the screen, backing up the security footage. "Sif got sucked out."

"She was our only shot at taking Lorelei down." Kate argued.

"Is, Detective." Brynna countered. "Sif's an Asgardian. She's still out there." She reasoned, turning to Skye, gesturing for her to claim the seat in front of the computer. "Unlock it. Let her back in." She ordered, rounding the edge of the desk, gesturing for Kate and Martha to follow her as she popped open a ceiling tile.

"Brynna, darling, what on Earth do you think you're doing?" Martha asked, curiously.

"I stashed some emergency supplies in Skye's bunk-" The specialist began, only to be cut off by Skye.

"What?!" The hacker snapped, breaking her eyes away from the screen before her.

"What? It's not like you were using it!" Brynna argued. "Besides, don't you have an airlock to open?"

"Already done." Skye announced proudly. Glancing back at the screen she noted that Sif had already re-entered the plane on the security cameras. "And, Sif's already back on board."

"Okay, great." Brynna smiled, proud of her niece's work. "Then, you're comin' with us." She added. "In order to avoid running into Ward and Lorelei – or anyone else, for that matter – unarmed, we're gonna have to go through the ceiling vents." She explained. "Martha, I want you to stay here. Coulson's got all sorts of weapons stashed around here, so, you'll be protected. I want you as far away from the battle, as possible."

"Brynna, dear, I think I can take care of myself." Martha countered.

"That's not what this is about!" Brynna snapped. "Now, as a level ten operative, it is _my _job to take command of this plane while Agent Coulson is incapacitated. That means it's my job to protect everyone on board – including you, Martha! Now, I don't have time to sit here and argue with you guys. Skye. Kate. You two are coming with me. Martha, you are staying here and that is final! If you don't like it, find me after the dust clears. Until then, what I say goes until Agent Coulson wakes up!" She barked. "Any objections?" Seeing no objections, she added "Good! Now, let's go!"

* * *

Gripping the handle of Sif's sword, Lorelei whipped around as she heard the door to The Cage slam shut behind her. Coming face-to-face with her nemesis, the temptress raised the sword in preparation for an attack. "Leave me peace." She warned the warrior. "Return to Asgard."

"While you remain here?" Sif sneered. "I think not."

Outside The Cage, Fitz overheard the conversation. Glancing down at his tablet, his eyes widened as he realized what had happened. "What's she doing?! No!"

* * *

"Here, I will no longer pose a threat to Asgard." Lorelei sneered. "Can you not let me be?" She asked, feigning desperation. "Find some small mercy within your heart?"

"My heart has no place in this." Sif replied, firmly. "I have **orders **to bring you back."

Rolling her eyes, the seductress replied "All these years and you're still the same _Sif_...Doing as you're told...Kneeling at the feet of those who command you...Never to get what you desire." Lorelei smirked as she saw that her taunting was having precisely her desired effect on the warrior. "Not Haldor...Not..._Thor_..." She taunted. "A man who considers you more pet than woman?"

"Hand me. My _sword_. Lorelei." The warrior growled, closing in on the temptress.

"See, that's the difference between you and I." Lorelei teased. "I don't _take _orders..." Thrusting the second blade out of the handle of the sword in her hands, Lorelei was met with a swift knee in her chest. Striking out at the warrior before her, her blow was blocked by Sif's arm as she gripped her sword in an attempt to reclaim the weapon. The force of the struggle snapped the sword in two.

* * *

"Stay strong for me, baby girl." Leo pleaded, as he attempted to unlock The Cage door. "Just stay strong." Approaching the scene, Jemma watched in disbelief at what Lorelei had reduced the engineer to. However, her quiet gasp soon gave away the fact that she was there. "Simmons." Leo breathed. Realizing she'd been made, Jemma took off at a dead run as Leo chased after her. "Hey! You're not supposed to be up here!"

* * *

"Wow!" Skye observed, impressed by the suitcase full of weapons that the specialist had stashed in her bunk. "That's a _looootta _firepower..."

"Yeah..." Kate agreed. "Did I miss something?" She wondered, aloud. "Are we going to war?"

"In a sense, Detective..." Brynna began, cocking the pistol in her hands as she stashed a second weapon in the back of her belt. "Yes." She added curtly before passing a third pistol to the Detective. "Now, you'll have to watch out for the recoil on these babies." She warned. Catching the glare from the homicide detective, she added "Hey! All I'm sayin' is that these bad boys pack a hell of a lot more punch than than the ones the NYPD issues." She elaborated, handing Skye another pistol.

"Very nice..." Skye smiled, examining the weapon in her hands. "Way better than anything Fitzsimmons gives us."

Grinning at her niece, Brynna replied "Now, remember you guys. If you're gonna shoot, _always _shoot to kill-"

"I'm not gonna kill my SO!" Skye argued, sharply.

"That man serving Lorelei is _not _Agent Ward." Brynna replied, curtly. "The sooner you accept that fact, the better off you'll be." She added, tucking extra ammo into the strap around her calf. "Remember what she did to Coulson? What she almost made him do?" She asked, quirking a challenging eyebrow at the hacker. Realizing that the specialist was right, Skye merely nodded her agreement. "Now...Like I said..." Brynna added, her voice softening ever so slightly. "Always shoot to kill...Because I guarantee you...Your enemy **will** not hesitate to do the same."

* * *

"_Ward?!_" Fitz called out, as the aforementioned specialist had his gun pointed straight at May's head. "_I think we have a BIG PROBLEM_!" The engineer screamed, distracting the specialist for just a fraction of a second.

Taking advantage of the specialist's distraction, May snatched the pistol out of his hands – hitting him with a swift, solid knee to the chest, knocking the wind out of him.

* * *

As the two – now single – blades clashed against one another, neither woman seemed willing to back down. Each one giving as good as they got, they seemed to be in a stalemate.

* * *

Retaliating against the pilot's attack, Ward landed a punch square in her face, before repeatedly smashing her face against a wooden shelf as he threw her to the floor.

* * *

Back against the wall, Sif broke free with an elbow to Lorelei's face. Catching the warrior's blade with her own, however, Lorelei soon had her right back where she wanted her – back against the wall.

* * *

Scurrying down the stairs to the lab, Fitz muttered "Better get back here, Simmons...Can_not _be running around..." Turning away from Coulson at the sound of her attacker's voice, Jemma reached for the nearest weapon she could find. A fire extinguisher. Reaching the landing he added "Lorelei doesn't want-" His comment fell short as he was met with a fire extinguisher to the face.

Watching the engineer fall the floor, unconscious, Jemma looked down at him with a pitying expression on her face. "Poor thing...He's _always _getting knocked out, isn't he?" She cooed, before returning her attention to her new patient. "Come on, sir...Give me _something_..." She begged, grasping at straws for a treatment for his injuries.

* * *

Punching Ward square in the face, May gripped him by the back of his neck before smashing his face against the stair case and throwing him to the floor – aiming her gun at his head. Before she could fire, the specialist leapt to his feet, taking the pilot down to the floor with him.

* * *

Flipping over the table behind her, Lorelei rose to her full height as Sif held her sword above her head. In response, the temptress held the warrior's blade down with her own, defensively.

* * *

Entering the lounge area, Skye and Brynna found May and Ward in a tangled heap on the floor. "You get May, I got Ward." Brynna ordered as her niece nodded, grabbing May by the shoulders and pulling her to her feet, holding her back from Ward.

Gripping Ward by the throat, Brynna dragged the specialist to his feet with her pistol pressed flush against the flesh of his temple. "Don't fucking move." She hissed as the other specialist raised his hands in mock surrender before swiftly flipping the senior agent over his shoulder.

* * *

"Beckett!" Rick called out, encountering his fiance in the hallway. "You can't be here. Lorelei doesn't want anyone – oomf!" Unwilling to allow the author to get the upper hand, the detective swallowed her feelings for him and pistol-whipped him hard across the face – knocking him off his feet.

"Sorry, Castle." The detective whispered, as she quickly dragged him into the nearest bunk, tying him to a bedpost.

* * *

Painfully twisting the seductress's arm behind her back, Sif seized the opportunity to head-butt Lorelei before kicking her in the stomach, forcing her back against the wall. To which Lorelei retaliated by throwing the warrior off of her and lunging at her – fist drawn to throw the next punch – until she was unceremoniously thrown to the floor on her back.

* * *

Rolling across the floor, Ward managed to snatch his pistol from its landing place before May charged at him – sending them both flying through a glass partition – before landing next to him on the floor as he pointed his gun in her face.

* * *

"Kill me." Lorelei requested, breathlessly, as Sif knelt over her. "I'd rather die than go back to that _place_."

"You'll not get off that easy." Sif sneered, pointing her blade at the temptress's neck to prevent her getting up.

"Why?" Lorelei begged, tears streaming down her face. "It's what you want." She offered, simply. "I can see it in your eyes." Seeing she had the warrior where she wanted her, Lorelei dared raise herself up onto her elbows as she asked "Or would you rather hear about how the man you loved followed me around like a _dog_...Hear of his _touch_..." She sneered. "His_ kiss_...The look in his eyes when I -"

Having heard enough of Lorelei's taunting, Sif shoved the collar around her neck, relishing in the moment as she watched its cage spread over her mouth and stabilize itself against her chest. "You were saying?" She taunted, victoriously.

* * *

"Sorry 'bout this." Ward sneered, breathlessly, as he pulled the trigger only stare, impotently, as nothing happened.

Right on cue, May held up the clip she'd previously stolen out of the weapon before rising to her feet.

Rising to his own feet, Ward felt Lorelei's hold on his mind snap. "Whoa! Whoa, whoa whoa! Wait! Wait! Wait!" He declared, raising his hands in surrender. "Sorry. It's me." He panted as Sif brought Lorelei into the room in her collar and Asgardian handcuffs. "'Kay? I'm back."

"He speaks the truth." Sif confirmed, shoving Lorelei – collar in place – forward as proof.

With the matter settled, May still had a personal score to settle and landed a solid punch square in his face. "Good to know." Melinda sneered.

* * *

"My apologies..." Sif apologized sincerely, as she stood before Brynna, Richard, Skye, Kate, Ward, Alexis, Fitz, Martha and Melinda. "The damage caused to your...flying boat...was unfortunate." She conceded, regretfully.

"It's seen worse." Melinda assured the warrior, merely grateful that Lorelei was finally in custody.

"I assure you..." Sif replied, firmly. "Lorelei will be punished _severely _for her crimes against your people..." Glancing around the group before her, the warrior noticed someone conspicuously missing. "Where is the Son of Coul?" She asked, curiously.

"He's...currently incapacitated at the moment..." Skye confessed, hanging her head in shame as Richard drew her into his side, supportively.

"The Son of Coul is wounded?" Sif asked, worriedly.

"While he was under Lorelei's spell..." Brynna hissed, glaring daggers at the temptress. "...She coerced him into trying to kill Skye." She added, softening her voice as she watched the hacker unknowingly bury her face in her father's chest. "However, what Lorelei did _not _know..." She added, returning her voice to a neutral tone, smirking at the seductress. "...is that Skye is half-Asgardian – with a few tricks up her own sleeve."

Eyes wide with shock, Sif turned her gaze to the hacker. "You are of Asgard?" She demanded.

Raising her head from the author's chest, Skye cleared her throat before speaking. "Not exactly...But, my mom was..."

"And, Skye inherited all of her mother's abilities..." Brynna interjected, gently. "Psychokinesis...Technopathy...These abilities, however, seem to have remained dormant until she was injected with a regeneration serum known as GH-325 which seems to have awoken her abilities. When Coulson attacked her – even while she was unconscious – her technopathy took control of Coulson's weapon and threw it across the room." Watching the looks of her audience, the level ten operative steadfastly ignored their bewildered expressions as she continued on with her story. "At that point, her psychokinesis took over and picked Coulson up and threw him across the room – slamming him against the wall – rendering him unconscious."

"Is there anything I can do to be of assistance?" Sif asked, hopefully. "It has truly been an honor to fight alongside each of you and I would do anything to ensure the Son of Coul the opportunity to tell Thor of his survival, himself, as he has asked."

"Sadly, no..." Jemma replied, regretfully. "He's deteriorating so rapidly...I've tried everything..." She added, helplessly. "He's not responding to anything. I don't think there's anything anyone _can _do..."

"Actually..." Brynna interjected, the metaphorical light bulb going off in her mind. "There might be. Skye, can I speak with you, in private, a moment?" She asked, peaking the interest of the rest of the group.

"Uuuhhh...Sure?...I think?" Skye replied, confused, as she followed Brynna out of earshot of the others.

* * *

"Listen, Skye...I meant what I said, before..." Brynna began, cryptically. "You _are _exhibiting all of your mother's abilities...And, there was a third one that I haven't told you about, yet..."

"What was it?" Skye asked, curiously.

"Your mother – in addition to being psychokinetic and a technopath – was also a healer..." Brynna began, before the light of realization dawned on the young hacker's face.

"So, you think that...Maybe I have some sort of healing powers, too?" Skye asked, hopefully.

"Precisely what I was thinking." Brynna smiled, proudly.

"And, maybe I could use those powers to help Coulson?" The hacker asked, praying to whatever deity was listening that she was right. She'd do anything to help the man that had done so much for her.

"Exactly!" Brynna confirmed, excitedly.

"What do I have to do?" Skye asked, eager to help in whatever way she could.

"Well, from what I read in eyewitness accounts of your mother's abilities, just take his hand in yours and hold your free hand over the injured area." Brynna explained, calling to mind all the 0-8-4 reports she'd read on Tien-Hou Wang. "I think I heard Jemma mutter something about a concussion. So, just hold your free hand over Coulson's head and focus on the desired outcome."

"Got it!" Skye declared, before taking off at a run toward the ICU pod.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**So, I hope y'all like this installment! Next chapter, Coulson wakes up and (with any luck) we should have some epic Coulsyeness. Also, the first five (5) reviews on this chapter will get a little insight on an extra special surprise I have in store for this story...(kellz1pt5, you don't count...you already know what the surprise is...lol)

~Skye Coulson


	4. I Won't Let You Go

**I'm On My Way**

**Disclaimer:  
**Come on...Y'all know the drill, by now...

**Rating:  
**T

**Genre:  
**Romance/Hurt/Comfort

**Pairings:  
**Coulsye  
Caskett

**Lyrics Used:  
**Snow Patrol "I Won't Let You Go"

* * *

I Won't Let You Go

* * *

_There's something happening, here | There's something here that I just can't explain | I know I'm where I belong | Deep down, inside, I'm no longer lost_

_I won't let you go | (This is what you really want) | So, don't let go of me | (This is what you asked for) | I wanted something more | (This is what you really want) | I wanted this right here | (This is what you asked for)_

* * *

"Skye!" Ward called after the hacker as he took off running after her toward the ICU pod. The rest of the team – confused though they were – took off running as well. When they arrived at the pod, they could only watch in wonder as their hacker stood over their fearless leader. Glancing up at the various screens and monitors Jemma had hooked him up to, they watched his vital signs continually deteriorating right before their very eyes. However, their attention was drawn back to the man on the bed as they watched Skye place her right hand on Coulson's forehead while taking his left hand in hers as another golden force field encompassed his body. The golden energy engulfed Coulson's body for several minutes as the entire team watched, not even daring to breathe, until the steady beeping of the heart rate monitor drew their attention, once more.

"Bloody hell..." Jemma breathed, hurriedly making her way into the pod to investigate the results of Skye's actions, for herself. "He stabilizing..." She breathed in realization.

Looking around the room at all of the curious stares of her teammates, the reality of the situation was hitting Skye like a Mack truck. She knew there would be countless questions that she just wasn't ready to answer, yet. First, she gets shot twice in the abdomen – perforating her stomach while puncturing the small _and _large intestines. Then, the next thing she knows, the man that she loves is unconscious on the floor next to a strange woman. Then, said woman shows her security footage of Coulson trying to kill her only to have her own powers throw him against a wall – nearly killing him. Now, she just used those same powers to _save _him? It was all just too much. Suddenly feeling the pressure crushing down on her, the hacker gave in to her fight or flight instincts – opting for flight – as she took off toward her bunk.

"Skye-" Richard called after his daughter, only to be stopped by his half-sister.

"Let her go." Brynna advised, gently, with her hand on her half-brother's arm. "If anything that Coulson's told me about her is true, the best thing to do for Skye – right now – is to just give her some space." She elaborated. "We've just dropped a lot of bombshells on her. And, we still have some more. She's already overwhelmed, as it is. Give her some time to digest before you go after her."

"Brynna's right, Castle." Kate added, gently. "Just let her have her space."

Apparently Skye wasn't the only one in need of some space as May half-heartedly glared at Ward before storming off toward the sanctuary of her cockpit. Knowing that a much-needed heart-to-heart was in store for himself and the pilot, Ward knew sooner would be better than later as he took off after her.

Curious about the strange disappearances of the pilot and the specialist, Alexis decided to go investigate for herself. "Alexis?" Brynna called, curiously. "You okay?" She asked, hinting at wanting to know where her niece was headed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." That much was true. "But, like you said...Everything's been pretty intense...I'm just gonna go decompress..." Again, not entirely false. She really did have a lot of things on her mind that she needed to sit down and process. Mostly growing feelings toward a certain raven-haired S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Also, she still had yet to figure out how she was gonna tell her father that she'd recently been accepted to the S.H.I.E.L.D. academy – under the operations discipline. She knew her dad always supported whatever she wanted to do. But, she also realized that he would know how dangerous this line of work could be – hell, they _all _saw that when they first saw Skye in a coma, fighting for her life. But, she just felt – in her heart – that this was what she was meant to do.

* * *

"Who was she?" May asked, a deceptively calm quiet to her voice as she heard the cockpit door close. She didn't need to bother turn around to see who it was. She already knew.

Sliding down into the chair next to the pilot, Ward released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "Does it really matter?" He asked, lamely. "Look, I know what you and I have – it was only ever supposed to be sex. Nothing more. And that, if it ever became a problem, then we would end it." Ward explained, recalling the deal they'd made once they started sleeping together. "Well, it's become a problem, because I've found myself developing romantic feelings toward another woman-"

"Who. _Was_ she?" May demanded again, finally turning to look at the specialist. "You're right. On a personal level, it _doesn't_ matter." She elaborated, slowly. "But, if it's going to become a problem for the team, then, it matters."

"It's not going to be a problem for the team." Ward replied, vaguely. "I mean, hell, she's a _civilian _for God's sake..." He added – his voice trailing off as he suddenly realized that he may have said too much already.

"A civilian?" May questioned, curiously. "Who _is _she, Ward?"

Sighing, Ward realized that it would probably get out sooner or later, regardless. That was one of the draw-backs to living on a plane full of spies. Secrets never stayed secret for very long. "It's Castle's daughter." He conceded, finally.

"Alexis?" May questioned, looking for confirmation. When Ward only nodded, silently, the pilot paused for a moment to process the new information. "You're gonna have one hell of a hard sell with her father..." She warned, an almost smirk tugging at the corners of her lips.

Nodding, Ward couldn't believe the way this conversation was going. He was so relieved that Melinda was taking the news so well. "Thanks for the heads up." He replied, the slightest ghost of a relieved smile on his face. However, little did the specialist know how much more complicated things would get once he stepped outside the cockpit door.

* * *

Walking through the lounge area, Alexis' mind had started to wander as she found herself outside the cockpit door. She had been just about to turn back when she heard voices on the other side.

_"Who was she?" _Alexis recognized the voice as that of their pilot – Melinda May, she believed the woman's name was. It sounded like there may have been more to the pilot's relationship with Agent Ward than she had originally believed. She knew she should turn back and give the two their privacy. But, her growing attraction toward the specialist had her admittedly curious as to where the conversation was going.

_"Does it really matter?" _ The younger Castle heard the voice of Agent Grant Ward reply. _"Look, I know what you and I had – it was only ever supposed to be sex. Nothing more. And, that if it ever became a problem, we would end it."_ Now, she _knew _she should have given them their privacy. _"Well, it's become a problem, because I've found myself developing romantic feelings toward another woman-" _Well, that settled that. Now, she **had **to find out where this was going.

_"Who. _Was _she?" _Melinda ground out, clearly growing agitated with Grant skirting around the question. _"You're right. On a personal level, it _doesn't _matter." _She conceded. _"But, if it's gonna become a problem for the team, then, it matters."_ The pilot elaborated.

_"It's not going to be a problem for the team." _Grant argued. _"I mean, hell, she's a _civilian_ for God's sake."_ Now, that piqued Alexis' interest. _He couldn't _**_possibly _**_mean _**_me_**_...Could he?_ She wondered, to herself, unconsciously leaning closer to the door.

_"Who _is_ she, Ward?" _May questioned, again.

After a too-long pause, Alexis finally heard Ward sigh as he answered the question. _"It's Castle's daughter."_ Mind-blown, Alexis just stared at the cockpit door, in shock, as she slowly backed away – still attempting to wrap her mind around what she'd just heard.

_"Alexis?" _She heard May ask in an unreadable tone. _Well, that's it...I'm officially dead..._She thought to herself, throwing her hands in the air and looking up at the ceiling in defeat. _"You're gonna have one hell of a hard sell with her father..." Wait...Was that her way of approving?_ Alexis wondered, hopefully, leaning closer to the door once again to get a better listen.

However, she didn't get to ponder that question very long as the door smacked her in the face as she hurriedly backed away in surprise. Looking up into the face of the man she'd been crushing on since she first set foot on the plane, all the younger Castle could think was _Oh, crap..._ "Alexis?" Ward greeted, curiously. "What are you doing here?"

* * *

Setting off in search of his half-sister, Richard Castle was rather surprised to see Agent Coulson slumped against a door. "Let me guess..." The author greeted, jokingly. "Locked out?" However, Rick immediately regretted the joke the moment his eyes met those of the senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. There was so much defeated hurt in them that the author physically ached for the man before him.

"I was hoping to talk to Skye." Phil replied, staring defeatedly at the closed door before him. "I can't believe I did that..." He whimpered, helplessly. _I can't believe I tried to kill the very woman that I love..._

Kneeling down next to the agent before him, Richard rested a gentle hand on his shoulder – only to immediately yank it away at the warning stare he'd received in return – before speaking again. "Look, Phil...We all said and did things we never normally _would_ because of that woman that Sif was hunting." Rick conceded. "And, from what Brynna's told me of Skye...I know she would never hold your actions against you."

"What's goin' on?" Brynna asked, innocently, noting her half-brother and former SO kneeling on the floor outside of Skye's bunk.

Rising to his feet, Rick responded to Brynna's question. "Phil was trying to get in to talk to Skye but she's not letting anyone in."

Sighing lightly, Brynna replied "I'm not surprised." She conceded. "After she hacked into the security camera feed, she was positively sick with guilt." The senior specialist elaborated. "Let me see what I can do..." She added knocking lightly on the door.

_"I said, I _**_just _**_wanna be _**_alone_**_, right now!"_ Skye's voice betrayed the false anger she tried so hard to hide behind. _"Is that** really** so much to ask?!"_

"Skye, it's me, Brynna." The senior agent called. "I just wanna talk." She added, keeping her voice at a calm, reassuring tone. "Just two minutes...That's all." She finished, before she finally heard the lock slide open. Looking between her brother and former supervisor, she decided "I think it'd be best if I approach her alone, first."

Exchanging a glance, Phil and Rick knew Brynna was likely right. Seeing their agreeing nods, Brynna drew a steadying breath before entering the young hacker's bunk.

* * *

"What, exactly, did you hear?" Ward asked, carefully, eying the young red-head for any possible signs of deceit.

Looking up at the specialist, Alexis wasn't an idiot. She knew lying probably wasn't her best option, right now. Sighing lightly, she decided to just go for broke. "I...everything..."

_Aw, hell..._Ward thought to himself, mentally bracing himself for the rejection he was sure was imminent. "I see..." He hummed, thoughtfully, before pausing to try to think of the best way to proceed.

An awkward silence stretched between the two as they both tried assess the other – attempting to figure out what to say or do next. Finally, unable to take the quiet any longer, Alexis blurted out "I like you, too, you know..." The words had left her mouth before she'd even realized it as she immediately clapped her hands over the offending orifice in a futile attempt to stop them. _Shit..._ She thought to herself. _I _**_really _**_shouldn't have said that..._

Eying the woman that had stolen his heart at first sight, Ward attempted to calculate the sincerity of her response. "You do?" He asked, curiously.

"Y-yeah..." The young woman stuttered nervously. "I-I just didn't wanna say anything, though, 'cause it kinda looked like you and May had a thing and...well, to be perfectly honest, she scares the hell outta me. Oh God, I'm rambling!" Alexis rambled on, anxiously.

Chuckling lightly, Ward tried to save the young woman from herself. "Alexis." He called, gently, failing to gain her attention.

"Oh, listen to me! I'm so sorry!" The red-head rambled on.

"Alexis!" Ward called, a little louder, still to no avail.

"I do this, sometimes! Especially when I'm-" The red-head continued babbling until the specialist finally resorted to the only sure-fire way he knew of to silence her. Closing the gap between them in a single stride, he gathered the young woman into his arms as he pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

"Hey, Skye..." Brynna greeted, gently, crossing the bunk to sit beside the young hacker on the bed. "What's goin' on?"

Sighing, Skye stared down at her hands. "It's just...I know Coulson's out there and I know he wants to talk to me, but..." Her voice trailed off as she found she had no words for what she wanted to express.

"But, you're afraid of yourself, right now." Brynna offered, gently, wrapping her arm around the young hacker. "Is that it?"

Skye could only nod silently. "These powers..." She muttered, quietly, before turning to Brynna. "They scare the hell outta me. I mean, hell, I tried to **_kill _**_Coulson_, for Christ's sake-"

"Skye." Brynna interjected, gently. "Those powers weren't able to distinguish between friend and foe. And, _you _were incapacitated, at the time. Besides, Coulson's will and mind were _not _his own in that moment. He was completely at Lorelei's mercy. You both did things neither of you would _ever _do under normal circumstances." She explained. "But, right now, that man is desperate to clear the air between the two of you. And, I – for one – think you both really need that." Sighing lightly, the specialist decided to go for broke. "Because, as overwhelmed as you are now...the bombs haven't finished dropping, yet."

Staring up into Brynna's eyes in shock, Skye asked. "What are you talking about?"

"Look, there's a reason that I brought Mr. Castle, and his family on this Bus." Brynna began, vaguely. "But, you and I can discuss that, later. _After _you talk to Coulson."

Looking up into Brynna's eyes, Skye recognized that whatever it was that the specialist had to tell her, she was eager to know it. Also recognizing that the senior agent would give nothing more away until Skye had spoken with Coulson, the hacker knew she had no choice. "Okay." Skye replied, meekly. "Okay...I'll talk to him."

Smiling softly, Brynna silently rose off the bed and opened the door. Looking down at Phil, she smiled gently as she spoke. "She's all yours."

* * *

Exploring through the plane, Kate's eyes widened in shock as she mindlessly charged at the young couple, ripping them apart as she pulled her gun out of her belt, gripping the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent by his hair and shoving the gun into his throat. "The hell do you think you're doing?" She hissed.

"Kate, chill!" Alexis begged, terrified by her soon-to-be-step-mother's actions.

"Detective Beckett.." The specialist choked out around the gun in his throat. "It's not what you're thinking-"

"_Really_?!" Kate sneered. "So, you're _weren't _just sticking your tongue down Alexis' throat?"

"Kate, it's not like that, okay?!" Alexis screeched. "I'm an adult, now. You and my dad _have _to learn to accept that or you're gonna push me away and I might not wanna come back!"

That part had Kate's attention. She certainly didn't want to be the one to drive a wedge between Rick and Alexis. In her shock, she released her grip on the specialist.

Massaging his sore neck, Ward cleared his throat as he made another attempt to defend himself. "Listen, detective...I understand your concerns – believe me – I get it." He conceded. "But, this isn't just some sort of physical lust. I genuinely care for Alexis. And, I would _never _do anything to hurt her."

Looking into the agent's eyes, Beckett sensed that he was telling the truth. And, in all honesty, she trusted Alexis' judgment. She may have had some questionable taste in men in the past. But, she couldn't deny that Grant was nothing like Pi. Surely, she could at least give him a shot. "Okay..." The detective conceded, finally. "But, I'm not the one you gotta worry about..." She added, turning to Alexis. "Good luck selling this to your dad..."

* * *

"Hey, Skye..." Phil greeted, cautiously, as he stood anxiously in the doorway to Skye's bunk – sliding the door closed behind him.

Taking in Coulson's nervous body language only hurt Skye that much more. _God, I can't _**_believe _**_I did this to him._ "You can sit down..." She offered, lamely. "If you want..." She muttered, slightly more brokenly,

Smiling slightly in his attempt to ease her anxiety, Phil crossed the bunk to sit next to her on the bed. "Listen, Skye...I just wanted to apologize..." He sighed, lightly. "For everything. For-"

"Are you kidding me?!" Skye snapped, cutting off the senior agent's apology. Taking in his confused countenance, the young hacker elaborated. "Phil, _I'm _the one who should be apologizing. I can't believe I tried to kill you..."

"Well, in all fairness, I _did _try to kill you, first..." Phil offered, smiling lamely as he tried to diffuse the situation with levity. But, apparently, his attempt fell flat as Skye simply hung her head, shamefully. "Listen, Skye...I don't want you blaming yourself for this okay?" He offered, gently, wrapping the hacker up in his arms. "The only person to blame for this is Lorelei. And, Sif's already taken her back to Asgard to be punished for her crimes. She's gone. She won't be bothering us, anymore. And, I would love it if we could put this behind us and move forward..."

Looking up into the eyes of the man that had unknowingly stolen her heart, Skye knew she would give anything to do just what he'd asked. She would give anything to just put this whole mess behind them and look to the future. "I'd like that..." She managed, weakly, relieved at the small smile on Phil's face.

"Great." Phil muttered, softly, holding the unwitting owner of his heart in his arms another moment longer before speaking again. "Well, I better let Brynna and Rick back in here..." He conceded, regretfully. "They have quite a few things they really need to discuss with you..."

Nodding, Skye hated the idea of Coulson leaving. But, she also knew she was dying to know what other bombshells Brynna could have for her. "Okay."

* * *

"Did you guys patch things up?" Brynna asked, curiously, watching her former SO exiting the young hacker's bunk.

"Yeah." Coulson replied, slightly relieved after speaking with Skye. "I think we're gonna be okay."

"Good." Brynna smiled, turning to her half-brother. "Well...You ready, Ricky?"

"To tell my long-lost daughter 'Hey. Guess what? I'm your dad!'...No. No, not at all..." The author admitted, only half-joking.

"Come on, Rick." Brynna chided, almost physically dragging her brother into his daughter's bunk. "Sooner ya get this over-with, the better." She added. "Just rip the band-aid off and be done with it."

* * *

"Hey, Brynna." Skye greeted, in slightly better spirits than the last time the senior agent had spoken with her. "And, Mr. Castle. What can I do for you guys?"

"Well, the first thing you need to know is that...Mr. Castle is actually my half-brother." Brynna replied, smiling warmly at Rick.

"Oh, wow!" Skye replied, eyes wide. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah, it is." Brynna replied, before her face took on a more serious expression. "Listen, Skye..." She began, crossing the room to take a seat at the foot of the hacker's bed while her brother made himself comfortable on a chair across the bunk. "The reason I brought my brother and his family on-board is because he's had me working on a little side-project for a while, now..." Sighing lightly, she added "A project that...sort of involves...you..."

"Me?" Skye questioned, curiously, glancing back and forth between the agent and the author. "What kind of project could the two of you be working on that could possibly involve _me_?"

After sharing a worried glance with his half-sister, Rick decided to jump into the conversation. "Twenty-four years ago, I reached out to the CIA to help me find a daughter of mine that I had never been given the chance to know."

"Okay..." Skye drawled, trying to connect the dots in her head. "But, what does that have to do with _me_?" She repeated, still completely lost. "I mean, I'm with S.H.I.E.L.D. I've always been _theirs_...I've never been associated with the CIA in any way..."

"True." Brynna conceded. "But, _our father_ **worked** for the CIA." She explained.

"Which was why I had hoped they could help me find my daughter." Rick interjected. "But, they kept stone-walling me."

"Which is why my brother finally came to me." Brynna interjected. "Rick knew that my level ten security clearance gave me access to files even _the CIA _doesn't know exist."

"So...What does..." Skye began, her voice trailing off as realization dawned in her eyes as they widened to the size of dinner plates. "Oh my God..." she breathed.

"Skye..." Rick began, drawing a steadying breath as he knew the hacker had finally figured out where they were going with all this. "I'm your father."

"But...I've been looking for my parents my _whole _**_life_**." Skye argued. "And, I've hit dead end after dead end. The only thing I ever found was a single document-"

"Redacted by S.H.I.E.L.D." Brynna finished her niece's statement. "I know." She added, softly, as the hacker looked up at her in wonder. "S.H.I.E.L.D. does an amazing job of covering their tracks. And, given your mother's heritage, we had a hell of a lot to cover up, after the massacre in China."

Suddenly, Skye's shock soon turned to anger as she rounded on Rick – all but leaping off the bed and storming across the room – towering over him. "Where the _hell have you _**_been _**for the last twenty-four years?!" She demanded. "All that time I bounced from foster home to foster home?! Thinking I wasn't _wanted_?! That I just didn't have anywhere to _belong-_"

"What? Y-y-y-you think I just _abandoned_ you and your mother?!" Rick shot back, finally finding his voice, leaping to his feet and forcing the young hacker back. "You think I just had my way with your mother and never even gave her a second thought?!" Pausing a moment, the author suddenly realized that he really _hadn't _thought about Tien-Hou again until she'd sent him the letter about the baby. "Okay, maybe ya got me there." He admitted, quietly. "But, I have spent the last _twenty-four _**_years _**looking for you, Skye!"

In that moment, a heavy silence fell over the bunk as Skye and Rick stared at each other – chests heaving, angrily. Studying the author's eyes, Skye realized that everything he was telling her was genuine. Backing away, she simply muttered "Oh." Covering her mouth, she breathed "Oh my God."

"Your dad never gave up hope, Skye." Brynna offered, gently, rising up from the bed to wrap an arm around the hacker's shoulders. "Even after he heard about the massacre. There were no official reports – that _he _found, anyway..." The senior specialist added, with a knowing smirk directed at her half-brother. "...of your body ever having been recovered. Because of that _one _detail..." Brynna trailed off, staring directly into the hacker's warm doe eyes. "That _one _detail gave your father hope...Kept him going all these years. Just waiting for the day he finally got to meet you. ... Got to see you for the very first time."

Shifting her gaze from the specialist to the author, Skye paused – trying to process everything she'd just been told. Finally, at a complete and utter loss for what to say or do or how to proceed, she just launched herself into her father's arms. The force of the collision caused Richard to stumble back a step or two to prevent them both from crashing to the floor. Composing himself, Richard tightened his hold on his daughter as she buried her face in his chest, crying silently for all the time together that had been stolen from them over the years.

* * *

**Author's Note:  
**There it is! The big father-daughter reunion. I hope y'all enjoyed it!

~Skye Coulson


End file.
